About Time
by Emyln
Summary: Rory is following her dream at the New York Times which is keeping her on her toes. Luke and Lorelai are settled but Rory's feeling a little alone. When she runs into budding author Jess the two wonder if things will be like last time. Rory/Jess.
1. Chapter 1

**..::AN: I've been a devoted Gilmore Girls fan since the series primier way back in the day and I've wanted to take a crack at writing in it quirky styles and with its characters for some time. For anyone who felt like giving this fic a try and doesn't know me I'm religously a Ginny/Draco writer but I really wanted to try my hand at Gilmore Girls. Not totally sure where I'm going with this but let's hope it works lol Please enjoy :) ::..**

* * *

The silver car sped down the country road connecting to the highway. It travelled just below the speed level at a combination of efficiency and precision while The New

Pornographers spilt out the window. When it merged onto the freeway it glided on and took the correct exit to head to New York.

Inside Rory had a large travel mug filled with coffee balanced on her lip and after checking to make sure there was no cars within view she took a large swig and stuck it back in

its plastic holder.

She had finished the Obama campaign coverage over a year ago and was now an intern at the New York Times. It had taken all the connections she made in Iowa plus writing

until her hand bled to be accepted but so far it was proving worth the effort. There was no doubt in her mind that it was the biggest challenge she'd collided with but she was

having coffee with other interns at trendy-cafés down the street and talking politics at lunch.

She doubted she would rise up in ranks for years, if ever, but it was still an experience she was savouring and thanks to her father she didn't have to worry about rent. Rory

smiled as she travelled down the 91 at the though of her mother having to ask her parents for another loan. Things were still tense most of the time between Lorelai, Richard and

Emily but it was noticeable that someone had unscrewed the cap to the bubbling soda-bottle that was the Gilmore relationship. Though she had a text message on her side-kick

from her mother comparing a day of shopping with Emily like a visit to a very damaged psychiatrist.

Rory sighed and glanced at the digital clock as she calculated she still had another hour to drive; it was a good thing she had plotted a drive-through stop to fuel on a burrito and

a gigantic order of French fries. She looked down at the white bag on the passenger seat Luke had given her with a large Styrofoam cup of homemade vegetable soup. Maybe

it'd become her midnight snack.

She had just enjoyed a five day visit to Stars Hollow during which she visited Lane and the twins who had been desperately smashing at their light-up keyboard and guitar she

had gotten them for Christmas. She had spent every night with her mother on the couch watching the Sopranos on DVD and waking up every morning to Luke's pancakes in

her own kitchen. She had also managed to squeeze in visiting Sookie multiple times, a dinner with the grandparents and a welcoming town meeting. In two weeks she could do it

all over again.

* * *

Rory was already zipping up the back of her black pencil skirt when her alarm went off. Stumbling with the straps of her shoes she violently turned it off and went to her mirror

to pin half of her hair into place.

Her apartment was small but clean and in a good area. Her dad had offered her a condo but Rory felt it was unnecessary and settled on the red apartment only a short walk

away from a strip of restaurants, shopping centre and the subway. Though she had to ask the ticket agent occasionally where to go she felt comfortable in the city and loved its

fast-paced nature.

The walls of her place were a deep red with cherry floors and frosted light fixtures. There was a her bedroom with a small walk-in closet, an open concept living room and

kitchen a closed off bathroom with a large glass shower. While pouring herself a bowl of cereal and humming along with the Ramones she looked at her day-planner. Everything

written down in meticulous detail as per Rory Gilmore style but with a hint of Paris Gellar influence.

"Hey, does Paul Anka miss me yet?" Rory asked after she dialled her house number. Lorelai responded with a series of chewing noises while she could hear Michele seething at

her an the background. Rory smiled as she locked her door and slipped her purse onto her shoulder.

"Hi honey. Of course Paul Anka misses you, you're the only person who updates him on the world with your worldliness. On your way to work?"

"Yep. I'm going to take the stairwell so I can talk to you though. So if it sounds like I'm being shot it's just my shoes." She said as she gripped onto the stairwell.

"How escape-hatch of you."

"Well I try. How's the Dragonfly?"

"Sun and rainbows, I think Lily Allen is going to skip through and bat her eyelashes at Michel any minute."

"Well we all bat our eyelashes at Michelle from time to time."

"Very true. I have to get going hun Sookie's freaking about the dessert she's making. Apparently her tarts are too tart."

"Quel suprise! Bye mom."

"Have a good day; you conquer those intern-esque things."

"Can do."

* * *

Rory stood by the sophisticated photocopier with its multitude of buttons and flickering lights and quickly pressed the corresponding keys to print fifty copies of the timetable.

She still had twenty minutes to get them to everyone's desk and her much loved laminating technique to avoid problems with constant coffee-spills took seven minutes. The

remaining time was plenty to hand out the time-tables and fit in small talk with some of the higher-ups.

Rory couldn't wait to one day be asked out for coffee or drinks with one of the writers and with a small smile to herself she thought it was coming soon. But for now she had to

admit she was a little lonely; she spent every lunch with the other interns and wishing she could pull her reading and listening to her walkman Chilton system.

"Rory this is a brilliant system. I spilt my cereal while going over it last month and with one swipe of a paper towel it was good as new!" beamed the red-headed film-critic. Rory

smiled and handed her the new copy.

"It may not be the most environmentally friendly option but we go through a lot less paper this way and coffee-soaked paper isn't really recyclable anyway. How did your date

with Greg from marketing go?"

"Not great, all money talk. Thank's for asking though, I have to jet though Cassie's waiting for me so we can go to lunch. See you!"

"Have fun." with a small smile Rory continued to the next block of desks. Within fifteen minutes she left with the other interns to a small bistro right in front of the subway steps.

The atmosphere was hideously cliché with round, high tables and iron stools that bellowed poetic-art scene and the intellectual youth hang out. There were black and white

photos on the wall but Rory was itching for their hazelnut spiked coffee and a sandwich.

"So then I told him he had to be kidding– quoting Machiavelli like that. I mean aren't we supposed to be the one's making the common over-quoting mistakes?" one of the

interns with large glasses laughed. The others simply nodded.

This set up was familiar to many seen in High School where because they were all of the same rank, they ignored the fact they really didn't like each other or wanted to be at the

same table but felt a bit secure by grouping together. Today with a small wave of pardon Rory decided to sit at the window by herself with her book.

The streets looked like it was being held together by the people weaving throughout the streets and each other. From the Wallstreet looking business people to the artsy woman

with dread locks carrying a guitar case and the Second Avenue wife with her pearls and a happy little boy holding her hand they all glided between each other with few

stumbles.

Rory wrote her thought on the piece of scrap paper she was using as a bookmark.

"New York is a quilt viewed by a person on acid." with a smirk she took a large swallow of the hot coffee and buried herself in her book. When she was done she would call

Paris long-distance and they would talk about it, argue and then be interrupted by Doyle would pick up the other receiver and join in.

Sometimes Rory wished she could talk to someone without having to pick up a phone.

* * *

"Look all I was told was to bring the box of books here; they said nothing about a signing! I'm not Stephen King! Why would anyone want a signed copy of this?"

"Sir why would we ask the author to deliver his own books? We have many customers interested in getting their copies of _Highlight_ signed and your publishers said it wouldn't

be a problem."

Rory peered out from behind the bookshelf and saw the slender sales clerk tucking a pen behind her ear. She was dressed in a simple red dress with a white sash tied around

her waist and she didn't seem the least bit frazzled by the argument.

"Fine, whatever. I'm going to go use your washroom now and if there's any curse words written on the wall when I leave..it wasn't me."

Rory let out a small whistle as she picked up the last book she needed and headed to the cash. The salesclerk smiled revealing a row of perfect teeth and rang through the

books.

"Authors..so temperamental sometimes."

"Sounds like a bit of a mix-up. Hope it works out." Rory said as she took the small brown bag and her change. With a friendly smile Rory walked out as the author emerged

from the washroom to see a brown-haired girl walk out and into the streets.

He stared after her momentarily while it sparked multiple memories. With a shake of his head he looked back to the counter and picked up a pen and signed the first paperback.

"Jess Mariano."

* * *

Rory bundled her coat tightly around her as she ran across the street and down the road to get herself a night-time snack. She had tried mixing marshmallow, Rice Crispies and

M&Ms together and eating it right out of the bowl when it was still sticky and messy but it just wasn't satisfying her. She intended to fill a box at the bakery with biscotti and

danishes and watch Dateline while making notes on issues that she would write about.

To keep herself sharp Rory had a weekly goal of four pieces. She would watch the news and read the newspapers then write her heart out and edit the pieces and save them on

her jump drive. Sunday's were spent revising the pieces again and usually a bubble-bath.

Rory laughed quietly to herself as she thought about her new found discovery of bubble-baths. Lane had suggested it as a way to ease tension in her back saying that when she

was pregnant it was her saviour and ever since she'd been hooked.

The warmth and sweet fragrances of the bakery pulled Rory in immediately as she opened the door. Powdered desserts, whipped cream and melted chocolate made her mouth

water as she looked into the lighted glass case.

"Can I help you?" said the man behind the counter. Rory nodded as eyed the treats.

"Two cherry danishes, four chocolate-almond biscotti and one of those yummy looking peach things please." She fished into her coat pocket for a ten dollar bill and some one's

while the man looked at her.

"Having company?" the man chuckled.

"No it's just for her." said a voice behind her. Rory turned around and smiled.

"Jess! What're you doing here?" she was about to hug him but thought better of it. The last time they had seen each other she was still with Logan but had let him kiss her. She

had seen the hurt in his eyes when she confessed she wasn't single and she was unsure of how friendly he wanted her to be.

He had the same casual look he had been sporting in Philadelphia with a The Clash t-shirt, a black blazer and dark jeans. A smile crept across his face and he shoved a hand

into his pocket.

"Book stuff. I'm here for the week, how about you?" before she could stop him he had paid for her snacks and handed her the box.

"I'm doing an internship for the New York Times. I live here." she noticed he had a small box in his hand already. Suddenly she remembered the voice in the bookshop. "Hey

that was you downtown wasn't it? Arguing with the sales-lady at the bookshop beside Starbucks?"

Jess shrugged. "I didn't want to do a book-signing for a paper-back."

"It was a fantastic book Jess no wonder people wanted it signed." she watched as the man at the counter eyed them expectantly as he counted change in the till. The shop was

obviously closing at nine and he was waiting for them to leave.

"You read it?" he asked as he followed her outside. Rory nodded.

"Of course I did. Hey do you have an hour or so? My place is right there we could catch up a bit?"

"I was going to see what was on cable at my hotel but that sounds better. But you're giving me half of that peach pastry."

"No way! What'd you get?" Rory lead the way across the road, miraculously jumping a puddle in her heels and unlocking the foyer door. They went up the stairs and it wasn't

until she smelt the sugary marshmallow and noticed the gigantic bowl she left on her coffee table that she remembered her experiment before she left. As she kicked off her

shoes and ran to put it away Jess grabbed it and stole a handful.

"You know these are supposed to be square right?" he laughed as he tossed it in his mouth. Rory winced and looked at the bowl with it's unused potential.

"I don't have any baking-pans to put it in." she winced as he followed her into the kitchen.

"Nice place. You need a weird post-modern art piece on that wall though." He looked into her relatively empty cupboards and shelves while Rory got two cups and poured

them some soda. She placed the newspapers under the coffee table and placed the cups and the two boxes of treats together before heading back to the kitchen.

The concoction was now squashed on the counter and Jess had tossed his blazer onto the floor and was moulding it into a flat blob. Rory handed him a knife and watched him

cut it into squares with a little bit of difficulty but when they arranged them on the plate they did resemble the typical treat.

She lead the way to the couch and settled in one corner while he settled in another.

"So Luke and your mom huh?"

"Finally; it's nice to not have any huge plot twists between them. Mom loves April and I kind of like having two younger sisters. Though I think it'll be a while before April

and Gigi start bonding. Luke's not really my step-dad in the classic way; he's always been there for me." Rory dug into the danish and as she tasted the icing her stomach

growled quietly.

"It's a good thing you were always aware of that." Jess said with a bit of remorse.

Rory looked at her sticky fingers then back to him. She thought the tension between Luke and Jess had been alleviated at the open house in Philedalphia. She knew about the

cheque and that Jess had formally apologized for everything but the guilt in his tone was lingering like the powdered sugar on her fingertips.

"I keep having this feeling someone's going to burst through that door and make this awkward." He said uneasily. Rory gave a weak smile.

"There always seems to be strings attached when we see each other don't there?"

"Gipetto would be proud."

"Well it's just me so we can actually catch up this time." Rory reached for her soda and picked up the TV guide between her fingers skilfully.

"Just you? What happened to Captain Mercedes?" the question caught Rory off-guard and she coughed on her drink. "Oh hey I'm sorry I didn't mean to...maybe this was a

bad idea."

Rory held out her hand and stopped him from standing up while trying to ignore the tingling in her nose from the carbonation. "It's just a long story. You know how some things

just end really abruptly so you can't have a chance to fix it?"

"Yeah." Jess said simply, without a hint, without any regret. This conversation wasn't about them, it was about her, and he wasn't about to start strolling down that path again.

"I wonder sometimes if I could have but he gave up so quickly so then again I doubt it."

"Did you make a pro-con list?"

"More like a maybe-maybe not list. Hey Oliver Twist is on." Rory tucked her feet under her and grabbed the remote. A part of her really wanted to pour everything out onto the

table and watch it spill onto the floor like marbles but it didn't feel right to throw so much emotional baggage around in an hour.

Jess slouched into the couch and crossed his arms with a smirk. "Go for it."

* * *

When Jess awoke he was startled to feel something warm on his thighs. Looking down groggily he saw two dainty ankles twisted together and feminine feet resting on his legs.

Rory was sleeping soundly, stretched along the couch. Forcing his eyes away from her milky arms and the way they were tucked close to her frame he glanced at the clock and

swore loudly.

Rory shrieked and fell landing awkwardly between the coffee table and the couch. Jess quickly jumped to help her up.

"I'm sorry Rory I freaked. I was supposed to call my publishers an hour ago they're going to be so pissed." He smirked a little as he watched Rory wipe some sleep from her

eyes and look around wearily.

"It's okay. We must have fallen asleep during Dirty Dancing."

"Can you blame us?"

Rory smiled as she watched him find his blazer and flick though his cell phone. She remembered telling her grandmother that he didn't believe in cell phones the night he showed

up with a black eye. Pursing her lips she began wondering what really gave him the injury.

"Yeah it's me Adam. No I know I'm sorry but I was busy..well what if I was in car accident or something? No I wasn't obviously."

Rory walked into her room and looked at her un-slept in bed sadly as the kinks in her back started to wake up as well. She closed her door as she took out some new clothes

and laid them out on her bed and grabbed a robe. Putting a brush to her hair she began to work out some of the tangles and started reflecting.

She couldn't deny she was still attracted to him but it was completely senseless to kiss him like she did last time. She wouldn't lead him on again.

"But I'm single this time." She thought to herself as she wiped off her eye shadow and mascara with a cotton ball. Would it be possible for them to just be friends? After all they

had a lot in common. Rory sighed as she went back into the living room with the robe folded over her arms and watched him for a bit.

"He's only here for a week. Don't make this out to be anything more than it is." Rory thought finally as he hung up the phone. "Bad news?" she asked.

"Interview at four. Nothing exciting. Want to tag along?"

"That'd be fun, but I really have to shower I feel like I'm covered in sugar. Can I meet you there?" she suggested. Jess nodded and put his arms into his jacket and glanced at

the clock.

"Sounds good, I should change too. Three thirty at that Sushi place where the really stuck up business people go at Park Avenue?" Rory nodded and waved as he headed out

and for the elevator. While she locked the door behind him she found herself thinking "this is going to be tough."

After she walked out of the bathroom in her cosy blue robe she immediately dialled her mom's phone.

"Lorelai Gilmore Scene-It Queen speaking."

"I thought I told April to hide that on you." Rory laughed as she applied moisturizer to her legs and arms with difficulty. Her mother let out a triumphant cry.

"I knew that was you, my own offspring..fruit of my loins—how could you?" April could be heard laughing in the background while Paul Anka was barking.

"Well when you took out a crown and started running around the kitchen doing the "I've seen it more than you've seen it while playing scene it" dance I figured it was time."

"Okay fine. So what's up? I called your cell around ten last night but no answer."

Rory took a deep breath as she combed her hair. "I think you should maybe go upstairs for a second well I tell you what happened." She heard her mom start up the stairs and

Paul Anka follow suite while making an excuse for girl-talk and privacy immediately after.

"Well okay what?"

"I ran into Jess last night. I know you're going to repeat his name in shock and I figured you should do it away from Luke."

"Woah Jess? Like devilled-egg run away with me on my motorcycle Jess?" Lorelai asked. Rory heard her sit on her bed.

"Yeah he was at the bakery across the street from me and I was picking up a peach danish-"

"-dirty!"

"—and there he was. He came back here and we watched TV and talked a bit and we fell asleep on the couch. He's here for the entire week doing book stuff." Rory walked

over to bed and looked at the jeans she had pulled out for today and pictured how terribly she'd clash among everyone else. "Hey what do I wear to that fancy Sushi place that

was on Sex and the City?"

"Your brown cashmere sweater-dress, and black opaque stockings. You'll blend right in. Now back to the Jess thing..how awkward was it?"

"I don't know, he only mentioned Logan once..and briefly. But I don't know I was wondering if he was like expecting something to happen you know? And I wanted to have

the meaningful 'here's what went wrong' with us conversation but to just spring that on him would be way too out of the blue. But then again we've never got to sit and actually

talk about it."

"Was there sparks?" Lorelai pried. Rory pulled her tights up and winced slightly.

"Kind of. I mean Logan was the bad-boy with money thing but Jess is.."

"The Danny hey be my Sandy kind of bad boy?"

"Well back in the day I guess, but he's different..but the same. I don't know. I don't think there were sparks. I'm not great at telling the difference between new sparks and old

flame memory sparks." Rory sighed as she finished getting dressed. She slipped on a pair of chocolate brown booties and pulled her red coat out of her closet. She started her

makeup and started thinking again about being just friends with Jess. It was the most logical decision of course, it wasn't like he swept her off her feet last night and she longed

to be in his arms. He was just..Jess. Scary as it was to admit, he had always understood her even though he may not have shown it.

"Well you had quite the past. But if you think hanging out with him brings up too much then maybe cool it? I mean you have your work and everything to occupy you so it's not

like you can't get out of seeing him every day. But you have to admit it's kind of weird."

"What is?"

"The timing issue, that he'd show up now."

"That crossed my mind too."

"And Luke says there's no fate."

* * *

**AN: well let me know how I did. More chapters to come. Please read and review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**..::AN: I own nothing. Gilmore Girls is not mine. Just this fic is mine-ish. Thanks for all the sweet reviews. I edited this piece twice and usually I do three times but today I got three fillings and I think my brains numb too. Hopefully I didn't miss much. Enjoy!::..

* * *

**Jess felt his right eyebrow itching to brush the ceiling at every question the chesty-blonde was asking. In the middle of the brightly coloured restaurant the pair of them sat at a 

shining brown table on rainbow cushioned chairs.

"Willy Wonka must have stopped by here once or twice." He muttered.

"Sorry?" asked Leslie. Leslie the reporter from the Globe and Mail was bordering thirty with cleavage that was bordering on swallowing the pepper shaker she was leaning

over. A mass of blonde corkscrew curls and green eyes that were eyeing him like a piece of meat were some other prominent attributes. The questions were straightforward and

several braved to be unique but they were beginning to plunge into flirtation.

"Nothing. I guess I credit being a loner to being able to work devotedly to my writing."

Leslie's head snapped up. "Oh so you _are _single?"

"Hey I'm sorry I'm so late my taxi got stuck in traffic." Rory said as she flew gracefully into the seat beside Jess and kissed him on the cheek. Jess instantly felt a warmth crawl

into his body as her soft lips brushed his cheek and her dainty hand slipped into the fist he had on the table. He could just make out the sound of Rory saying she was his

girlfriend but the "_his"_ was what echoed in his head. The simple gesture had swallowed him; like being dropped into a dunk tank of Jello -- he wasn't sure if he could climb out

of this.

"Jess, honey?" Rory kicked him sharply under the table.

"You two have been together long?" Leslie asked with a tone devoid of interest. Apparently the ending of their interview had been reserved for her attempts to flirt and Leslie

realized it was a lost cause.

Jess looked at Rory whose cheeks were tinged with pink from the crisp air outside, her curly hair had settled on her shoulders and she was giving him an expectant look. She

had saved him but he had to do some work too.

"Well we dated years ago when we were teenagers, but we recently started dating again. She inspired my first novel." He gave her hand a small squeeze of thanks and when she

slowly started to pull it away he held on tighter. She would slide away from him when Leslie was gone and he was going to savour this while he could.

"How sweet. Well I just have a few more questions and then I'll be on my way. The article will be in next weeks' Sunday issue."

Rory's head was a flurry of thoughts and emotions all at once. She had felt a stirring in her chest and stomach when she kissed his cheek. She couldn't remember if she had ever

kissed him on the cheek before; it was such a feminine gesture and most of the gestures between the two had been heated in either passion or anger. She remembered when she

had chosen Jess to give her virginity too; the betrayal she felt when he left before they had the chance. Not just because of that particular lost opportunity; but all the others. She

hated that the only time she had told him she loved him was on the phone, and he hadn't answered for a long time after.

She knew she had run to Dean after Jess left because everything in her life had changed; Yale was hard and she had clung onto Lane when she had snuck out of her house in the

same way. They were a piece of home; they were comforting. But Jess..

He had been a piece of her home for short intervals. Stars Hollow wasn't his home the way it was hers. He had been an outsider but she could connect with him so well from

early on. She could rant about her ideas and books and he not only knew what she meant but he could argue, or even expand on how she felt. But back then there had been so

many barriers around Jess she never understood what he was feeling; what was going on; if he had loved her then. She wondered if she could still be in love with him, or if the

feelings she felt were something else entirely. She desperately wanted her hand back, just as strongly as she was clinging onto his fingers.

He's leaving..he'll break my heart again if I try to start anything. He'll want me to go to Philadelphia with him; maybe he won't understand that I belong here for now. Suddenly

she felt panicked. She wanted to run like she had in Stars Hollow when he showed up and said he loved her. Her mother's voice rang in her ears explaining her moods being up

and down and not in the least Rory-like.

"It was nice meeting you Miss. Goodbye" Leslie leaving the table at a brisk pace woke Rory up. Every inch of her fingers as he slowly let go felt ice cold after his skin was

removed from hers. Silently she moved from beside him and took Leslie's empty seat.

Jess cleared his throat and looked at the menu. "Are you hungry?"

"Starved." Rory said quietly.

* * *

Rory watched over the shoulder of Alex the formatting guy as he dragged around columns on the Mac book. Alex had decided to let her sit in on his arrangement of the

Tuesday issue of the New York Times. Though Rory wasn't intending on working in this particular room in the future she did however have a goal. When Rory was offered a

job here, or at any other newspaper; she wanted to be efficient in as many areas of newspapers as possible. She had dabbled a little in different areas at the Yale Daily News

but it wasn't quite the same as this. Today Rory would sit in with Alex and she was sure if she snatched Darla from photography her favourite ballpoint pens from the first

stationary shipment on Thursday; she could watch the editing and photo choosing process. This was a part of Rory's divide, conquer and have an impressive resume plan.

"Do you want to give it a try?" Alex asked.

"Am I allowed?" Rory asked with a grin as she slid into his empty seat. Alex leaned over her shoulder and pointed to the correct margin measurement to drag the selected text

to. "I feel so scandalous."

"You're dragging a square of words?"

"Yes but I am not employed for square of words shuffling." She explained.

"You're not employed at all you're an intern."

"You're a sweetie Alex. Thanks." She said as she rolled her eyes. "Can I do the photo of the cobbler?"

"I think I have to make up for the intern joke. Let's go for it."

After she finished with Alex she went to the mail room at two twenty five and took Christine's mail from the mail-boy who happened to be Christine's nephew who she

despised. She took the elevator to the World floor and walked into one of the few actual offices and waved to Christine.

Christine smiled and waved while pointing to the headset and held up a hand to Rory. Unsure of what to do Rory put the mail in the corner of the large desk and simply stood in

the centre of the room.

"Yes yes, no. No that won't work. Can you just have it to me tomorrow? Okay yes. Fine. No! It's Christine with a C. Alright, thanks very much. Bye. Hey Rory."

"Hi, I brought your mail I heard you arguing with your nephew and figured hey she's a busy lady how about we avoid another Hiroshima huh?"

Christine's face split into a smile as she took off the headset. "You're a doll Rory. Now I've been meaning to talk to you for some time now. Please take a seat for a sec will

you?"

"Sure." Rory situated herself and looked at the woman across from her. Talks like this didn't usually end well for her.

"Well Sam was talking about you the other day kid. He said you suggested chopping a beautifully written sentence in half in Sia's review of some CD or another."

Rory's mouth became an "O" as realization struck her. "Oh no I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to stick my foot in I know I'm just an intern but Sam is always so friendly to me. I

never thought I'd offend him.." she was cut off by Christine's laughter.

"Oh honey stop it have you met Sam's wife? She offends him all the time, creepy though it is I'm pretty sure he likes being offended.

He's running the change you suggested; he told me you have an eye and asked me to read some stuff you've written. I know you've worked for the Yale Daily News which

helped you get the internship but sometimes people just rise above the ranks. From me your piece will move onto Dan from weekly. If Dan sees something in it he plays golf

with Phillip on Thursdays and will see if Phil has the time."

"Phillip Taubman? You're joking!" Rory couldn't hide the excitement in her voice as she leaned to the edge of her seat. She had wondered when her internship would start

opening doors and finally it was happening. It was almost one year ago Rory had started here and she knew that bonus opportunities came in various shapes and pretty

wrappings and there was now one in her mailbox.

"I'd try and do something current. Have it on my desk tomorrow morning, I'm assuming you're no moron and practice at least weekly?"

"Daily. Actually, sometimes it's just editing but I don't go a day without writing" Rory said modestly. Christine raised her eyebrows with a small smile.

"Then I'll expect an exceptional piece. Nothing too lengthy -- definitely not over a thousand words. Thanks for the mail." Christine picked up the envelopes and began to shuffle

through them while Rory got to her feet.

"Any time! Thank you for everything; I'll have the piece in your mail tomorrow morning." Rory closed the door behind her with her face split into a gigantic smile. Stashing away

into the stairwell she pulled out her phone and pressed the first number on her speed-dial.

"Mom! You won't believe what just happened!"

* * *

"Rory that's amazing!" Jess had a huge grin on his face as he got up from the couch. "People can do internships for years and get nothing from it. You're getting insight from the

belly of the beast here!"

Rory was slightly in disarray. They had ordered a pizza and the first thing she had done was pull off her skin-tone stockings and put on her fluffy bunny slippers and slide around

the floor. She had claimed that excitement and her gin and tonic called for a Tom Cruise moment.

"I know! I mean with the internship with Mitchum I was inspired to drop out of Yale and get arrested. But this..I just can't believe it." Before she knew it Jess had walked

around the coffee table and put his arms around her. Her feet were lifted off the ground as he laughed and spun her around. She smiled and held onto him for support.

"I've always wanted to do that to someone and I figured it was a fitting moment as any." Jess shrugged sitting her down. "I'm really happy for you."

"I can tell." She smiled as she slipped out of his arms. "So to celebrate I rented something special." Rory ran to her purse and held up the DVD. Jess's jaw dropped as she took

it from her.

"I haven't watched this since..well, in a long time." He said quietly. Rory simply smiled and put _Almost Famous _into the DVD player. She settled down on the couch as Jess put

two glasses down in front of them. Rory took a sip as the credits began to roll and sniffed the glass.

"Sprite, orange Crush and..." she took another sip and guessed again "Five Alive?"

Jess drank a large gulp of his and sat down next to her. "Close, Snapple. It makes it fresher. Plus the healthy part does something cool with the caffeine. I live off this combo

when I'm writing."

Rory smiled as the movie started. "It's really nice to have someone here to talk to." She said quietly. Jess turned and looked at her with a content smile on his face. He simply

nodded in a way that showed he understood but he politely cut her off before she could say anything else.

"Shh... movie."

Rory was the first to wake up the next morning and noticed something warm underneath her body and around her waist. She let out a slight groan as she managed to open her 

eyes groggily and saw the rising chest her face had been resting on. Jess was soundly asleep under her; comfortable but distracting at the same time.

Her mind was racing again, she wanted to run, she wanted to slip her hand under his t-shirt and feel the warmth of his chest..she wanted to cut her hand off for being placed in

the belt-loop on his left hand side. She wanted to fall back to sleep but she had the article to consider. She had finished it before Jess had come over and emailed it to Doyle to

check over. It was now sitting in a clear report-cover ready to place in Christine's mailbox in two hours.

"Jess?" she whispered. He stirred a little and opened his eyes slowly to see and feel Rory on top of him. Her hair was falling around her face, framing her pale skin and bright

blue eyes with brown waves. She smiled weakly.

"We must have fallen asleep again, I have to shower and get to work but you can go back to sleep." Her voice was barely a soft whisper; he nodded weakly as she moved his

arm and stood up slowly. His eyes quickly fell closed again and rolled over onto his side.

When he awoke several hours later he found himself under a thick blue quilt and a note on the coffee table. It read that he could call her and if he wanted to leave before she got

home at four to take the key she left and he could give it to her tonight.

Jess pocketed the key and turned off many of the lights before heading to the bathroom. As he noticed a short and rather skimpy robe hung up on the towel rack he vaguely

remembered Rory tucking him in with a warm blanket, her hair in a towel and revealing a fair amount of leg. He wondered if it was a dream as he left the apartment and locked

the door. Jess began to think about tomorrow. He had a flight to catch to the opposite side of the continent at two thirty and he wasn't sure if he could get onto the plane. There

was plenty of times he had run away from her but that was aided by the fact there had been a problem, but he wasn't sure if he could leave while seemed to be happy to see

him.

* * *

"You slept together?" Lorelai whispered in shock.

"Not that way mom. In the fell asleep and somehow woke up together, very squished, in the morning way."

"Would that be incest by the way?"

"Ew, no, it wouldn't. Focus though okay? Sparks..lot's of sparks."

"Well honey I'm going to say something I said a long time ago. Maybe honey, you are falling for Jess..again."

Rory sighed as she sat down and looked at her computer screen. "He's leaving tomorrow. There couldn't be worse timing for me to fall for anyone especially with the internship

and how busy I am, especially for a long-distance relationship. I said no to Logan because I was just starting my life; I'm still just starting."

"Well you've got a point but Philadelphia is only an hour or so away. Though I guess your weekends would have to be interchanged between Stars Hollow and there..I'm

starting to see the conundrum." Her mother sighed as she scratched behind Paul Anka's ears. The strange but faithful dog flopped onto her bed as Luke barged into the room

from the bathroom.

" Paul Anka get off my side of the bed!"

"Oh crap. He didn't hear anything did he?" Rory whispered. She wasn't sure what Luke would say about this whole situation. Between the thoughts in her own head and the

advice from her mother she had enough to think about for the time being.

"Who's going to Philadelphia?" Luke asked.

"No one. There's a sale at the mall there next week, Rory was just checking how far she is from it just in case." Lorelai covered. Rory winced. Even though it was a white lie

she was always afraid how things could be blown out of proportion between her mom and Luke.

"Well she should swing by and say hello to Jess. I'm sure he'd be happy to see a friendly face." He smiled before heading downstairs. The two girls let out quiet sounds of relief

as there was a jingling sound mixed with the creaking of bed springs.

"Paul Anka jumped back up didn't he?" Rory smiled.

"He tucked himself in too."

* * *

"Can I have your address?" Jess asked while they wandered around Times Square. They had spent most of the evening wandering around the city using the subway and spare

change. It was approaching seven-thirty and Rory had pocketed her key safely in her purse.

"On one condition." Rory said as they walked under the glittering lights for ABC. She was dressed casually in dark jeans and bundled under her red pea coat while he had had

his hands in the pocket of his own jacket. "I want to come with you to the airport tomorrow. By the way why not take the train? Isn't it expensive to fly that short of a

distance?"

Jess sighed. "Rory I'm flying to San Francisco. It's a really small airline company so it's the only way my publishers could afford it since I'm not working for Random House or

something. Then I'm taking a train to California."

"A tour of some kind I'm guessing?" Rory asked quietly. She couldn't ignore her disappointment; she had spent most of last night trying to organize the best way to visit him in

two weeks time and had been planning to purchase the ticket online tonight. She had admitted she couldn't say she had fallen in love with him again but she desperately wanted

to know him again.

"I'll be home in two months; I'd really like to visit you again." He said cautiously. Rory nodded as they plunged into a warmly lit coffee house.

"I'd like that too. It's just.."

"A long time?" he asked. Rory nodded, she wouldn't let herself look at his eyes. She busied herself by ordering their drinks and picking a table. They drank their coffee in

silence, letting the warmth of the cups crawl into their hands; looking at everything in the stuffy room. Rory took a piece of paper out of her agenda and wrote down her cell

phone number, her email address and mailing address and handed it to Jess who placed it carefully in his wallet.

"I have a really good long-distance plan." Jess suggested which forced Rory to smile.

"No more calling me from payphones in the park then?"

Jess laughed and looked into the coffee cup. "That was a confusing time."

Rory nodded. "I'd agree."

The next morning Rory dressed in a suede brown skirt with a satin baby blue blouse. She at her cereal and felt slightly confused. Soon she would be hearing back from Christine

about her article and though she was saddened about Jess leaving; the hurt wasn't penetrating the happiness she felt about her article. As she added some half and half to her

Cocoa Puffs she wondered what that meant in consideration to her feelings for Jess.

She wasn't in love with him, not yet anyways, but she had been willing to let it happen if they continued to see each other. But would she still be willing after two months?

"_What if we only talk to each once a week for five minutes_?" She thought.

Though she knew how to cope with long-distance relationships she wasn't sure if that's what this was. Furthermore she was completely unaware of what Jess wanted and he

was a crucial part of this scenario. The only thing she could seem to conclude on was that Jess was back in her life and she couldn't let him get away completely again.


	3. Chapter 3

**..::AN: Hello dear readers! Chapter three for you. You're all really sweet and I'm glad you're enjoying this. I'm really enjoying writing it. This chapters a little shorter but there's many more to come. I'm really trying to capture the attitude, humor and style of the characters and the show itself and its kinda stuck in my head over the years but I'm glad it's being appreciated. Some of you keep saying I'm a strong writer and I REALLY appreciate it so thanks::..**

* * *

The next morning Rory dressed in a suede brown skirt with a satin baby blue blouse. She ate her cereal and felt slightly confused. Soon she would be hearing back from

Christine about her article and though she was saddened about Jess leaving; the hurt wasn't penetrating the happiness she felt about her article. As she added some half and half

to her Cocoa Puffs she wondered what that meant in consideration to her feelings for Jess.

She wasn't in love with him, not yet anyways, but she had been willing to let it happen if they continued to see each other. But would she still be willing after two months?

"_What if we only talk to each once a week for five minutes_?" She thought.

Though she knew how to cope with long-distance relationships she wasn't sure if that's what this was. Furthermore, she was completely unaware of what Jess wanted and he

was a crucial part of this scenario. The only thing she could seem to conclude on was that Jess was back in her life and she couldn't let him get away completely again.

* * *

Jess glanced at his watch and sighed impatiently. It was two o' clock and the minutes were slipping away quickly. He had expected Rory to show up earlier than this so they

could talk and say goodbye but now he was beginning to wonder if she'd show up at all. The feeling of guilt stirring in the bottom of his stomach was all too familiar. He had felt

the same when she had sat beside him on the bus and reminded him to call; she hadn't seen his large duffel bag hiding under the seat signalling his departure from town.

This time he had a duffel bag of the same colour but it was full in view; then finally so was Rory. She ran past the line of people and stopped in front of him breathing heavily. Her

cheeks were brushed pink again as were her eyes.

"Rory are you alright?" he asked putting a hand on her arm. She nodded and inhaled with a little difficulty.

"I'm so sorry. I've been here for a half hour I just..it was really hard to bring myself here." They both turned their heads as his flight number was called out over the speakers

and the line of people began to bustle into the gate reserved for passengers. Jess looked at her; his face serious and thoughtful.

"I don't know what to say." He swallowed as a tear slipped out of Rory's eye.

She smiled weakly. When she had arrived at the airport she was fine but when she reached for the door handle she felt the soles of her shoes melt into the ground. If she took

another step and closed her hands around the cold, steel handle it was as though time would rush forward. She knew it was ridiculous but she felt as if she stayed outside his

plane wouldn't take off. Rory finally let logic in as she reasoned that it would hurt more to not say goodbye to him than deny he was leaving and had dashed through the airport.

"You don't have to say anything. I didn't think it would be this hard to say goodbye but it's just so soon." She confessed.

"Ask me to stay." He said firmly. Rory looked up hopefully but eventually shook her head.

"I can't. You can't miss these opportunities. I won't let you." Jess touched her face lightly; he was stunned when she didn't pull away. He wanted to hear her ask him to stay;

but he knew she was right and it touched him that she hadn't changed. She still wanted him to experience everything he was capable of; it caused him to remember when she

had lectured him for struggling in school before he crashed her car.

"I'm really thinking about kissing you right now. Just thought you should know." He confessed. Rory laughed a little and draped her arms around his neck.

"I can't say why exactly, Dodger, but I know I wouldn't mind." She didn't have a second to move as his lips covered hers completely and his free arm pulled her closer. He

tasted gloriously of coffee and cinnamon with no trace of cigarettes like years ago. Neither of them had a shred of knowledge as to what they were doing; but it seemed like they

didn't have the time to debate. When they broke off Rory felt the knot in her throat ease off slightly when he smiled.

"Goodbye Rory."

"Bye Jess." She watched as he walked into the gate and raised one hand in farewell before turning out of sight.

* * *

"So are you dating?" Lane asked anxiously as the porch swing creaked. The twins were down for their afternoon nap so she could marvel at Rory's romantic tale and the

blissful taste of Pringles.

"I don't know. I shouldn't have let him kiss me. What if I don't hear from him for a month and then he doesn't mention it? I mean I did the same thing to him when I went to

Washington." Rory was sitting in the middle of the floor with several articles she had written around her. She was attempting to edit as thoroughly as possible and try to have as

few red marks from Doyle and Paris as possible but she had felt the need for a phone-break.

"Rory, that was a long time ago; I'm sure he's not as immature now as you two were then." Lane shrugged as she crunched in Rory's ear. Rory winced from both the subtle

insult and the sound as she lay back onto the floor.

"I hope not. I should stop over-analyzing--it's only been a day right?"

"You've got it bad Rory. Remember how insane I went after I told Zach I liked him and he didn't say anything? You're fifteen miles past that."

"But that's the problem. I don't know what I've got. I need to visit you soon; cute babies and good music should cheer me up."

"You're losing focus here. You're Miss Newspaper Butt Kicker that should have you cheered too."

"I know but I like balance; there's nothing to distract me for even a moment here. Thankfully Lucy and Olivia are coming to visit next week maybe I'll get them to make you a

mobile?"

"Something really rock n' roll, or their Uncle Gill will freak. Just no Gene Simmons."

"Tell the band I say hi. Thanks for calling me Lane."

"Anytime godmother. See you soon."

* * *

Jess walked out of his hotel and searched for the nearest post office carefully. The colourful buildings and oddly shaped sky scrapers were a dramatic contrast from New York

but yet he felt colder here. The entire plane trip he had exhausted himself with guilt and then collapsed in the soft hotel bed without taking off his shoes. Though he was usually a

night owl all the chaotic flight transfers and crappy airplane food had him worn out.

The first thing he had done on the plane was write an extremely long letter, especially since he rarely found the need in his life to write a letter in the first place. Jess wanted Rory

to have it as soon as possible; so she would know this wasn't like last time. He wasn't going to do what she had done to him; he wouldn't kiss and run.

* * *

"The potatoes are really nice Grandma." Rory said as she placed the last of the small, buttery potatoes into her mouth.

"Spheres of starchy goodness." Lorelai quipped.

"I'll have to agree." Richard chuckled before patting his lips with a crisp napkin. Emily rolled her eyes and beamed at Rory.

"We'll have to get Melinda to make them again. Josie if you could pry yourself away from _Hello_ magazine for just a second to bring dessert it would be_ greatly_ appreciated."

Another timid maid Rory was sure she had seen before scuttled in and cleared the plates; replacing them with dainty silver bowls of chocolate mousse.

"Is Luke joining us next Friday?" her grandfather asked as he took a drink of his scotch. Lorelai jumped a little in her seat.

"Yes, but Dad, please no more franchising talk okay?" Rory gave her a stern look and Lorelai straightened and took a spoon of mousse.

"You should have heard him after you showed him your antique cars. He's thinking about searching for one to restore in the garage." She added. Richard instantly brightened

and clapped his hands together loudly.

"Well that's brilliant! I'd be delighted to see it when he's done. But if you'll excuse me I have to make a business call. Goodnight Lorelai, Rory." Lorelai smiled warmly as her

father left the room; something which didn't escape from Emily or Rory. Rory remembered how much the Gilmores had chastised Luke while trying to scare him away from her

mother and how much stress it had put on the couple.

A significant amount of the barrier between her mother and her grandparents had been alleviated when she had the farewell party in Stars Hollow. While Rory had been away

Lorelai had continued dinners with her parents and when Rory had managed to come home for a weekend together they had dropped the bomb.

It was a carefully strategized warfare. Step one consisted of Rory forcing her mom to tell Grandma and Grandpa before the wedding invitations were sent. She also had to pull

one of the daisy invitations freshly printed as not to insult them. Though her grandparents hadn't jumped for joy they hadn't send Lorelai home in a body bag either.

Emily picked at her mousse with a small smile on her face. Rory wanted to hug her grandmother as she remembered seeing her cry at her mom's wedding. Though things still

weren't perfect no one could deny they were, in fact, better.

* * *

"You know sometimes I wonder what would happen if that woman woke up and found a dog has eaten all her shoes. Oh! I should smuggle Paul Anka in one day and set him

loose on her closet! Let's see how her Gucci heels look with puncture marks and a truckload of drool!" Lorelai said viciously as her and Rory walked into the house.

"Mom you shouldn't have made that joke about Patrick Swayze; that's what set her off." They took off their coats and went into the kitchen to find a large brown pie covered in

whipped topping.

"Wow; secret pie I feel so special." Rory smiled as she picked up the note and jumped. "Oh my god. Mom! Luke invented me a pie!" Lorelai's jaw dropped as she walked into

the kitchen and took the note out of her bouncing daughter's hands.

"A Chocolate-coffee mallomar cake?" She went to the cupboard and grabbed the jug of milk, a banana and two glasses. "My husband is _so_ beyond sucking up. He's trying to

steal you away from me. Next thing you two will be downing cups of coffee at Twilight Zone rates and talking at rapid-fire speeds." She smiled as she peeled the banana and

took a bite unaware to Rory gaping at her.

"Mom?" Rory couldn't help thinking what was running through her head. Yet her mother seemed completely oblivious as she chewed on the less than Lorelai-like snack.

"If he asks you to go to Al's and order egg rolls you tell him you were mine first okay?" she turned from getting two plastic forks and looked at Rory. Her daughter was standing

there slack jawed with wide eyed while holding onto a chair. "You look like a Salvador Dali painting; what?"

"Mom, look at what's in your hand." Rory said slowly. Lorelai blinked, looked at the banana then proceeded to scream and throw it against the window. The fruit hit then

window pane with a thud and splattered over the sink before falling onto the counter unceremoniously. Rory grinned and ran to the calendar. "It's the twenty sixth! Are you?"

Lorelai's fingers went to her lips which cracked into a huge smile. Rory and her mother collided into each others arms and began screaming again.

"Norman Mailer I'm pregnant!" Lorelai shrieked.

"I think that only works when Norman Mailer's actually in the room! Wait, are you sure?" Rory yelled. She cursed herself for trying to be rational at a moment like this but it

was her nature.

"Definately. I threw up the other morning but I thought it was because Luke switched to decaf again and I took a gigantic Lorelai sized slug of it. Everything I've been feeling

lately fits. Oh my god I have to tell Luke! I have to tell Sookie! I have to tell everyone!"

"What do we do?" Rory bounced as she put her coat on. Lorelai ran into the living room and grabbed her coat.

"We run to Luke's. Yes I said run and then we Rat-Race it all over town and tell everyone!"

"Everyone? Miss Let's keep my middle name a secret from the entire town? That's not like you!" Rory said as they ran out the front door. Lorelai spun around quickly to face

her daughter with a crazed smile that Colgate would be proud to see.

"Weirder things happen to you when you're pregnant!"

Lorelai burst into Luke's with Rory trailing behind panting. Customers jumped out of their seats as the glass door slammed up against the small portion of wall surrounding it.

"Holy Jesus sugar there's still donughts left for the two of you." Babette said while clutching at her chest.

"Luke!" Lorelai yelled. When he didn't respond she simply yelled louder. "Luke get down here right this minute or I'll send Taylor after you--naked!" she was answered by the

loud sound of footsteps running down the stairs and into the diner.

Luke took in the sight of Rory leaning over a chair to catch her breath and Lorelai standing just in front of the door looking wild and smiling like a beautiful maniac. Everyone in

the diner had stopped eating and was stuck watching Lorelai. He put the bag of flour onto the counter and walked towards her.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" Lorelai nodded quickly.

"Okay..is everything okay. Well let's see... I just ate a banana!" she yelled happily. Luke blinked and held his arms out as if waiting for her to finish. Rory couldn't help but smile

at the confused look on his scruffy face and the wide eyes under the blue of the baseball cap.

"Uh..and?"

"Luke we're having a baby!" she said in an obvious tone. Everyone in the diner commenced into cheering while Babette was shrieking at the top of her lungs. Luke was frozen

and Lorelai was still standing there nervously waiting. Rory hobbled to Luke and took off his baseball cap then used it to give him a sharp swat across the head before replacing

it. Luke then blinked and shook his head a little.

"We're what?"

"Having a baby? There's a bun in my oven? The stork is on its way? It's alive, it's al—" Lorelai started but was cut off by Luke hauling her off her feet and kissing her. Rory

smiled as she sat down on one of the bar stools watching Luke and Lorelai kiss completely unaware of everyone around them. Sneakily she took out her cell phone and

snapped several cute pictures as Kirk shuffled up beside her.

"You know the drugstore where I am currently employed has an excellent sale on diapers. Very absorbent; lovely Princess and Bob the Builder patterns."

"I don't think they need those quite yet." Rory smiled.

* * *

**..:AN: yes its shorter, but alot happened in this chapter. That and I'm evil .**


	4. Chapter 4

**..:AN: Hey I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update. I just got back to school for second semester and I went away this weekend to visit my boyfriend in Toronto for Valentines. I'm not abandoning this I promise! Thanks for all the reviews! Enjoy!::..**

* * *

Rory sighed as she walked into the lobby of her apartment building and opened her mailbox. After a trip to the doctor in Hartford

with her mother on Saturday it had been confirmed; the reigning Lorelai Gilmore was two weeks pregnant. All of today had been

spent partying at Sookie's with everyone drinking steaming cups of hot apple cider and munching cinnamon muffins. Rory had

convinced her mom (with a great deal of effort) to run over to the grandparents' house and break the news. Emily had cried for a

minute before screaming at the maid to not offer her pregnant daughter a drink; then argued with Richard about proper conduct.

Rory smiled as she lazily put the mail under her arm and headed to the elevator. In a few days Olivia and Lucy would be here and

she'd be able to add another mobile request to the current inventory. She couldn't help but look at her phone as she walked

towards her apartment to see if Jess had called. Upon seeing there were no missed calls she pursed her lips and unlocked the

door.

The time in Stars Hollow was busy but it was comforting. It felt like she had been in a long bubble bath and the several minutes

where she wasn't rushing around the town with her expectant mother she had been able to think.

If he hadn't contacted her by now there was probably a reason. It hurt her to think that he regretted the kiss in the airport but she

couldn't think of a reason why he hadn't called her by now. Rory tossed the mail onto the coffee table before heading to her

bedroom to change into her fleecy Yale sweats.

Rory looked at her reflection in the mirror and brushed her hair back into a ponytail. She looked different from when her and Jess

were dating; but then again so did he. Rory felt guilty as she amused herself thinking about how he would react if he saw her in

fancier attire.

She sighed as she let the idea drift down into the heating vents and walked into the living room. Maybe she should just try, as

hard as it would be, to forget the feelings she experienced while he was here.

"_It seems like that's the method he's trying_." Rory thought as she sat down on her couch as began shuffling through the

envelopes. As she pulled out the thickest and looked at the return address her bright blue eyes widened.

_"...Or sending me this."_

* * *

Rory finished her letter that night by ten-thirty and felt tired yet relaxed; like she had run a marathon but was now in a warm

bubble bath with candles easing her muscles. She was a journalist; she had always written about important invents or turned

unimportant events like parking lot pavement into brilliant masterpieces. Though she had kept meticulous diaries in her life she had

rarely written personal letters such as this; and once it had ended disastrously.

But Jess had asked her to start this. In his letter he said he didn't regret what happened at the airport and had wished that it could

happen again. Jess made several other good points about timing issues; they were both at a part in their life with a lot of changes

and uncertainties but he felt that it could help them understand when the other had something to pursue. He said he had seen this

when she didn't ask him to stay at the airport and it gave him a light bulb-like epiphany.

The part he could see giving them trouble was, as he called it, 'the blanks." Jess felt like there were large periods of time in which

they didn't know anything about the other. He felt that though he knew Rory; he didn't know adult Rory as well as he'd like. This

was why he asked her to write.

Rory had named the first part of this assignment "The Rory Chronicles" and began with Europe, Yale and attempting to start

things back up again with Dean. She didn't write specifically that she had slept with Dean but she had mentioned the affair and

believed he'd read between the lines and piece it together.

She wrote about how backpacking around Europe with her mother was the best way to experience the adventure because she

had someone to laugh with. She wrote about her graduation from Chilton and how she really wished he could have been there;

how she would of liked to see Lane and Dave dancing at prom—the four of them could have shared a table and had a fantastic

argument about the music.

She told Jess she was too hurt then to hear him say he loved her and he couldn't have asked her to go away with him at a worse

time. At that time she hadn't known what was going on his life and though she could tell he was eager; he had broken her trust in

the worst possible way earlier and by begging her to run away with him in her empty dorm he hadn't earned it back.

She put in some amusing anecdotes about Paris and Professor Fleming as well as the confusion with Marty. Rory briefly

explained the separation of her grandparents and going to Europe with her grandmother.

At the end of the letter Rory couldn't help but write something that wasn't simply about her past.

"Jess, what is "us?"

* * *

"So Shauna will read after you, okay? We thought you could maybe do the first chapter and talk about Truncheon and the

magazine a bit too?" asked the clerk. Jess nodded while being hypnotized by the many pieces of metal protruding from her face.

When she smiled every piercing caught the sunlight; it was like having tin foil flashed in front of your eyes.

"Yeah.." he said absently. He followed her up to the stool and rolled his eyes as he sat down. The entire bookshop was filled

with college students and the remainder were wearing My Chemical Romance T-shirts. "This'll be fun."

This was the third book reading so far this week and though the first time was tedious and soul squashing he was beginning to get

used to it. He had never done readings like this before but they were over fast and he ended up selling a fair amount of his

paperbacks from it.

To try and keep himself occupied he wandered the city in search of libraries and record shops during his free time. While in one

record shop in Haight-Ashbury he had found a plastic-covered album that jolted his senses. He usually wasn't one for signs but

as he paid for it and walked out of the store he wondered how in the one moment he wasn't thinking about Rory that his thoughts

could hurdle back to her.

He had received her letter this morning and read it before getting dressed or eating breakfast. Though it wasn't as strong as it

used to be he couldn't deny the pulse of anger he felt when he realized she has slept with Dean. Though he hadn't seen him in

years he still believed he was wrong for her; but she seemed to have realized it too.

He was intimidated about what she may tell him about The Blonde Dick at Yale but she had loved him. She had told him in

person that she loved him and obviously something big had happened there. Jess knew that deep down he was still the same kid

who used to get on a bus or in his car when things got too intense; but he knew if she was ever to trust him again he had to stay

put.

Rory needed to consider things; she was excessively thorough and needed to talk about situations or she'd be tense and

frustrated wondering what was happening. He knew the fact he didn't answer her question would bother her but he did the best

he could in the letter he sent her this morning.

"It's us. I know that sounds lame and all Jane Austen but that's the only way I can think of describing it. If we're going to settle

on what we're doing here I don't feel right that it'd be on paper. I think it's an in the same vicinity of each other required

situation."

* * *

"Ouch!" Rory quickly put her finger to her lips as the stinging in her finger started. She had been sorting through the microfiches in

the storage room for three hours, four cups of coffee and two paper cuts. Another intern had been searching through them and

made a disaster of the organization and Rory willingly volunteered for the job.

"Stupid shiny plastic." Turning back to the pile on the rickety table she began to double check the dates and make sure they were

in order. Though her pinkie and index finger were constantly reminding her of their discomfort she couldn't help but feel excited.

She kept thinking that sometime today Phillip Taubman had her piece in his worldly hands.

Christine and Dan had told her she had a strong writing style and had a skill with making daring statements that a paper couldn't

get penalized for. Dan had specifically said that she knew which side of the pen was up and Rory was sure that was a

compliment. All this made it much easier to sort through dusty pieces of plastic film in a stuffy room.

She had received her letter from Jess this morning; two days after he sent it. Though she was disappointed he hadn't answered

her main question she understood and to lessen the blow he had answered many of her unanswered questions from before.

Jess said he left because he couldn't tell her he failed and Luke kicked him out. She had always believed in him and he had been

lying to her about Wal-mart and his attendance and she had believed in his abilities. He had visited his father and met his crazy

girlfriend with her Lord of the Rings dogs and realized how not fatherly Jimmy was.

It took him a long time and even a few Stars Hollow visits to realize that Luke was the closest thing he had ever had to a father.

He said the smartest things he ever did was make peace with Luke and listening to Rory. Though it may not have worked in the

conventional way; they had saved him from spending his life in a forklift at Wal-Mart.

He had drifted between jobs and towns for a few years; living in apartments that resembled a _Saw_ movie and living off french-

fries. Things clicked for him in Philadelphia and his reading had landed him at Locust St at Truncheon. The hours were late and

that's how he managed to write while waiting for the magazine to finish printing.

Relationship wise he had dated quite a bit; the longest relationship was just under a year with a poet that read at the bar across

the street from his work. He said their relationship was very Disney with no real reason as to why they were together and a lot of

Osbourne-worthy language.

Rory sighed since she knew what she'd have to talk about next. Logan had been long-term, very long-term for her and she had

sort-of turned down Jess for him. She knew how to talk about Dean in a way that wasn't emotional or too personal; but could

she do that with the man who proposed to her? Jess didn't have anything to be jealous of now but she knew how sometimes the

past can sneak up and break your nose with a frying pan.

* * *

On her way home Rory stopped at the grocery store and stocked up with regular kernel popcorn as well as several different

coloured bags of the snack. Also on her list were the brightest candies she could find as well as a giant tub of Triple Chocolate

Brownie ice cream. Fruit Loops were a necessity as well as ingredients for pancakes and many maraschino cherries.

Getting into her apartment took a fair amount of skill but once she had laid out all the goodies on the counter on plates and in

plastic bowls she went to the closet and pulled out the inflatable mattress. Rory was in party mode and she couldn't help but be

on top of her game with Lucy and Olivia coming. It had been ages since she had actually entertained and tonight would knock the

girls off their brightly coloured stockings.

Pizza was ordered; a large salad was purchased and Rory added various veggies. She then hung up purple, pink and blue

streamers and tossed around a few balloons. It was as she was attempting to follow the recipe she printed off the internet for

Daiquiris that she heard familiar voices.

"That was totally Carrie Bradshaw! I can't believe we saw Carrie!"

"We should have grabbed Rory and stalked her from behind Vogue magazines. If Carrie saw us she would probably just invite

us out for cosmopolitans. Oh my god we have to have cosmos with Rory it'll be like our initiation ritual."

"Initiation into what?"

"Why being New Yorkers of course!" Rory beamed as she ran and threw open the door. Lucy looked as though she had been

plucked out of a Betsey Johnson advertisement in a lilac skirt with crinoline, a yellow jacket and a blinding smile. Olivia was more

casually dressed in black jeans and a puffy pink coat.

"Rory!" they both yelled happily as they tossed down their luggage and began a group hug.

"Oh my god I missed you guys! I'm so excited! How are my two favourite Mondrian girls?"

"Well Lucy's landed herself a part in the Lion King musical!"

"Oh wow! Who are you?"

"I'm a really scrawny looking tree but it's so cool I dance around and act all tree-like and Scar winds around me a couple times

and I get to shake. It's kind of sad but it looks good on a resume and keeps me from having to live out of cardboard box beside

a dumpster so yay trees!" Lucy said Rory led them to the kitchen and went back to her drink-mixing.

"Yay trees." Rory echoed.

"So what about you Miss Fellow New Yorker? Fill us in your emails are so sad and vague like really cheap horoscopes; you

really have to learn how to use instant messaging."Olivia said as she settled her petite frame onto a bar stool.

"It's exciting; but my free time is pretty dull." Rory said.

"Then get off your butt and come visit us on the other side of Manhattan. Glenda misses you dearly."

"Glenda definitely misses you."

"Hey you start your shift at the art gallery right when I'm done my internship so don't you

point any of those sculptors' fingers at me. And Lucy everytime I call your phone I get your "Hey I'm acting—this is me acting

that I'm here!" message so you're not off the hook either." Rory shot back as she poured some lime juice into the concoction.

Lucy bent down and picked up a balloon and smacked it into the air with a cheer.

"Well then tonight let's go crazy! A reunion party! You already have the place all festive so let's be totally New York!"

"Oh my god Lucy she has Fruit Loops!"

"Rainbow food is the best!"

"Hey I think I got the daiquiri recipe down! Drinks for all!" Rory poured the pink liquid into colourful plastic cups and handed

them around. "To New York?" she asked.

"To New York." they echoed as they took a sip from their drinks then spit it back into their cups.

"Go out for cosmos?" Rory asked.

"Ugh definitely out for cosmos." Olivia nodded.

* * *

"I can't believe you've never been here before!" Lucy shouted over the band. They were in a bar that was excessively tall with

secluded round booths, a dance floor and a stage. Rory glanced down to see her Mary-Jane stilettos illuminated by the blue hazy

lights coming from the base of the bar counter.

"I'm not the kind of girl who goes bar hopping by herself." Rory laughed as the bartender took their empty glasses. Olivia

grabbed their hands and dragged them onto the dance floor. Rory couldn't help laughing as they danced when Lucy started a

more promiscuous version of her tree dance. When she and Olivia joined in she decided she had to use her spare time better;

dancing like a tree was more productive than watching infomercials.

They passed the hours dancing and laughing and pacing themselves with cosmos before collapsing into the last free booth.

"I'm looking forward to cold pizza when we get back to your place." Olivia sighed.

"Cold pizza always tastes better than hot pizza—you'd think the delivery people would have caught on to that and retire those

insulated bags." Rory smiled as she glanced over and watched the band. She heard Olivia and Lucy muttering a bit as she

contemplated whether it was pathetic or trendy that the band was covering The Killers.

"Do you think it's too soon?" Rory asked as she turned back to her friends causing them to sit straight up.

"Too soon for what?" Lucy asked quickly.

"To cover a band like The Killers?"

"It probably just means they haven't written anything worth tossing into the world yet. Hey let's go get that pizza sitting on your

counter?" Olivia said as they stood up and pulled her from the booth. Rory followed along behind them with an amused smile.

Spontaneity were definitely two of Lucy and Olivia's qualities but her feet were beginning to feel the burden of stylish shoes

making going home sound like a perfect suggestion. They grabbed their jackets from the coat-check and stepped into the sharp

chill outside.

The city was alive in lights and colour. Flashing signs and illuminated billboards threw their glow onto the streets like the

sidewalks themselves were casting their own light. Bright taxi's, limousines and cars whirred by amongst advertisement plastered

busses and the occasional bike.

"Shall we head to the subway?" Olivia suggested; Rory noted a strong sense of relief in her voice. She took in a deep breath and

felt the same relief as the door to the stuffy, noisy bar slammed shut behind them.

"Sounds terrific; shall we?" Lucy held out her arm for Rory who took it with a smile.

"Let's shall." She agreed. She was admiring the musical posters two buildings down when she heard someone yelling from behind

them

"Ace!"

Rory felt herself tense as Lucy held on to her arm protectively and Olivia flocked her as they turned. Logan was chasing after

them as a thin blonde called after him from the door of the bar. He looked just as he had when he walked away from her on

graduation; dressed in an impressive but casual business suit with his shampoo-advertisement hair.

"Just say the word and we'll all run." Olivia whispered. Rory nodded though she couldn't quite feel her head.

"Hello Rory." He said as he slipped his hand into one of his pockets.

"Hi Logan." She said quietly. Logan's eyes darted from Olivia to Lucy who were giving him looks of contempt.

"Ladies it's good to see you again. Can Rory and I have a minute?" Rory smiled weakly to her friends and nodded.

"It's okay guys; there's a coffee shop a few doors down I'll meet you there."

"Fine but New York minutes are faster so we'll expect you in thirty seconds." Olivia said loudly enough for Logan to hear as they

walked away.

"How's California?" Rory asked as she crossed her arms and looked at the sidewalk.

"Rory.."

"Logan." She said firmly. She knew the look on his face; he was struggling with a confession and trying to do something bold.

She smirked as the blonde stormed back into the bar.

"I've been promoted; business is booming and banging in California." He sighed.

"I'm happy for you." She admitted but she had a terrible feeling that he was going to make this much harder than it already was.

"I really should get back to Lucy and Olivia they're waiting."

"How can you be so casual?" he said his voice ripe with frustration. "Rory I made a mistake.."

"No stop. The only way I'm going to let you finish your sentence is if it's an attempt to apologize with no hidden clauses. I don't

want to hear if you've missed me or if you want me back because that is not something you deserve to say to me."

"Deserve? Rory I proposed to you and you turned me down how don't I deserve that?"

"We were together for three years and you completely gave up on us though we still loved each other. You were completely

willing to let me go even though you knew I had so many things to sort out in my life."

"Well I was wrong I know that now; I should have realized that even though most girls would have been thrilled to be proposed

to before graduating but you aren't like that! You're different Ace. Please just say you'll meet me for coffee tomorrow?" he said

as he dug through his wallet for a card. Rory was fuming; he still didn't understand how she couldn't be won over with gestures.

When he had won her back it was with words; but he had said three words to her on the grass at Yale that guaranteed he

couldn't win her over again:

_"What's the point?" _

"What's the point Logan? I'm glad things are working out for you but this is my life now. Just go back inside, please?" the cold

was beginning to work its way through her stockings and it was physically exhausting to stand on sore feet and old wounds.

"I can't just let you walk away. What're the chances of us meeting in a gigantic metropolis? You can't deny its very

_Serendipity_."

"Logan I honestly have nothing else to say to you. You finished us with a lovely Huntzberger wax seal and I don't want to give

you another chance. I'm sorry if you pictured me running into your arms like Scarlett O'Hara but that isn't me."

"You can't just look back on those three years we were together and not want it back? You were there for me through

everything and I was there for you too you can't deny that. Why can't you just let us try again? I have enough money that you

can factor me in again; it'll be easier than when I was in London. What about the Birkin Bag? The Life and Death Brigade? The

rocket?"

"You didn't wait for me for even a day; forget forty years. The rocket is attached to April's science project of the atmosphere.

Of course it doesn't mean nothing; we had something great and I don't regret being with you but things change—life changes.

Please just go; enjoy New York but put me in the past. No grand gestures." She gave him a small, pleading smile.

Logan pressed a hand to his forehead in frustration.

"You know I wanted to apologize for what I did but now I don't think it's entirely appropriate." He said; his voice was bitter and

angry but Rory took a deep breath and stood her ground. The more she told him that everything was over the more she felt it; a

year ago she would have pulled a _Gone With The Wind_ but now she heard he mother's voice.

_"__One day, you'll meet someone, and you'll just know that it's right. You won't want to hesitate."_

Right now she wasn't simply hesitating; she was refusing because she knew what she was saying was right. Not only for her but

likely for Logan too.

"I understand." She said simply. "Goodbye Logan." Rory took a quiet but deep breath as she turned and headed towards the

coffee shop where warmth, a double mochachino and laughter were awaiting her.

* * *

The soda-can was crushed and tossed into the small, gold garbage bin beside the desk landing loudly inside. Jess sat on the

rough carpet at the foot of his bed while reading Rory's letter as a feeling of frustration and helplessness crawled into his veins.

He knew that the wealthy Zac Efron clone was in the vicinity of Rory and had Armani pockets bulging with cash to try and win

her over.

Rory had written about the three years she had spent with Logan without trying to cloud over things and make it sound

unimportant. It had been her first adult relationship and the most life-altering. She had crossed the borders into the realm of the

privileged and paid with jail-time and a disturbing separation from Lorelai.

She described how she began to feel an understanding for her mother's decision for leaving the Gilmore household after she had

moved into the pool house. Her grandparents had taught her a lot about strange protocol in their society and that the DAR could

actually give her some laughs.

In consideration to Logan she told Jess about running into him at the bar with Lucy and Olivia and how she had respectively told

him to leave her alone. She had written that even though he had supported her through their relationship when things in his life got

complicated he would have extreme attitude problems and wouldn't let her help him until she was hurt or angry enough to frighten

him. The part of her life with Logan was over and she wanted to move forward.

Jess groaned quietly and looked at the stucco ceiling. From what she had explained about his "bold gestures" to get her back

after they had fought; Logan didn't sound like a guy who took no for an answer. What would he do if Rory got to her apartment

and found a new set of encyclopedia's waiting at her door in Logan's arms?

Without a second thought he pulled out his cell phone and pressed number four on speed dial.

"I hope you told him to go back to his Pussycat Doll hooker. Think the Huntzbergers would approve of gonorrhea entering their

family?" Paris said angrily into Rory's ear.

Rory laughed as she struggled with the armload of notes in her arm as she opened her apartment door.

"Maybe it'd understand the responsibilities better than I would have. But enough about him I already sent the gift basket he sent

me at the Times back with a "cease and desist" note. Can we talk about your final now?" she asked. She heard an alarm go off

near Paris and shut off ruthlessly.

"Fine it's been four hours since I wrote it so I won't give myself a panic attack worrying if I got one of the questions about

bronchitis wrong. I think I did well; it was a little tired I think the questions were as old as the professor and sure I appreciate

tradition but at one point someone's got to say "hey buddy put that horse out to pasture and turn it into Swiss-cheese with a

musket." I think I'll be doing that on Wednesday."

Rory blinked as her call waiting beeped.

"I'm glad it went well; I want to see you inspire a character on ER so don't fail me now. Paris can you hold on a second my call

waiting is beeping." Knowing Paris was going to start ranting about how call waiting had some sort of harmful affect on her

trachea she switched lines before she could start.

"Rory?" Rory smiled and felt an ease of tension in her chest as she heard Jess's voice. Though she was enjoying writing letters it

was a bit too formal for her taste to be the only form of communication. His schedule was constantly changing so she was always

unsure of when to try calling him and the few times she had she left casual messages on his voicemail. Her inbox had several

messages from him both stating the day and the time he called and saying hello.

"Hi Jess. I can't believe I'm actually talking to you and not just pre-recorded you."

" I know; we should alert that fancy newspaper of yours. First page story." He teased.

"I will let AJ know first thing tomorrow. Can you hold on a sec I'll let Paris go on the other line."

"Sure."

Rory politely told Paris she had to go but would send her an e-mail tomorrow with pictures of the popcorn ball tower she had

made with Lucy and Olivia.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"How's sunny California treating you? Have you gone to the beach yet?" Rory smiled as she went into her room and sat on her

bed.

"Me and beaches? I'm definitely not Moon-doggie kind of guy."

"I can see you hanging-ten and running on the beach like David Hasselhoff."

"Not even if you paid me." There was a small pause followed by a slightly frustrated sigh. "Look, Rory I feel bad that this is the

first time we've gotten to actually converse without a postage stamp but I have an alternative motive."

"You want to know about Logan?" Rory asked. She wasn't really surprised that he'd ask considering she was awaiting his letter

and then he'd have to wait for hers for another update. Logan was in the city now and Jess was on the other side of the

continent.

"_But should he be jealous?"_ Rory wondered; considering that they still hadn't come to an agreement on where the stood. What

if she randomly met a guy she liked at the paper before he came home? Was she breaking boundaries if she went out for coffee?

They were connecting at a deep, personal level but for the sake of being shallow and solid terms were they a couple?

"Yeah, I just feel really helpless over here. I mean you're not the kind of girl who needs a bodyguard because I'm pretty sure you

could give anyone a Rocky-inspired shiner with just throwing some of your vocabulary at them but I'd really like to punch that

guy in the face-- especially if you wanted me to."

"He sent me a basket today full of chocolates and flowers but I sent it back saying it was disrupting my work. I can keep fending

him off Jess you shouldn't worry." Deep down she was felt a twinge of flattery at the fact he was jealous.

"I'm glad, but hey if you need any help I know some really tough guys near Washington Park that could follow you around; very

entourage."

"Could I get them black sunglasses and get them to talk in code?"

"I'm thinking the code could work but they probably already have the sunglasses."

When Rory hung up the phone a half hour later she laid back onto her bed with a sad smile. The satisfaction she felt when they

bantered and joked around together had taken a lot of her doubts off her mind. She rolled onto her stomach with a smile as she

thought that any guys at the paper who wanted to go out for coffee would have to take an indefinite rain-check.


	5. Chapter 5

**..:AN: Ahh, I've been swamped lately I'm so sorry! I'm not giving up on this I promise and I'll try not to wait so long to update. I hope all of you that had march breaks enjoyed them I know I seriously enjoyed mine. I'm really wiped so hopefully there isn't alot of spelling mistakes in here because editing was tricky. That and my Writers Craft teacher may be checking out my website on here so ahh scary. Any readers who have livejournals should add me (see main profile) so we can talk Gilmore Girls or anything else really. Enjoy:..  
**

"Ace you can't ignore me forever." Logan argued in the hallway to her apartment. Rory crossed her arms and turned to face him. He had followed her home from the Times and refused to leave. 

"I didn't ignore you, in fact, I've been ridiculously lenient with you. I tell you I don't want to be in a relationship with you again and yet you won't leave it be. You're here for what? Four more days? I can definitely ignore you for that duration of time. Goodnight Logan." Rory quickly unlocked her door and closed it in his face. 

"I'll stay out here all night if I have to." Logan said through the door. "Please Rory. I still love you. You can't honestly say that you feel nothing what we had was too epic for you to be over us." 

Rory put her forehead to the door and sighed. The cool of the wood crept into her skin and made her wince like the sharp pain from eating ice-cream too quickly. 

"Logan we had something fantastic but you're not catching on. "Us" is past tense, I don't feel anything for you Logan I'm sorry. I know it'd be nicer for me to say something like "if things were different" but honestly I don't think I'd want to get back with you, and I don't _now_. Please Logan I don't need a reason to hate you but if you don't stop pushing this you'll have given me one." 

"This isn't you Rory, I know you well enough to be able to see that." 

"You _knew_ me Logan. Goodnight." Rory locked the door and went into her room without glancing back.

* * *

Jess winced as he put the pen to the piece of lined paper. It had been a month since they began writing and there were three weeks left in his tour. He had all the letters she had sent him folded into a manila envelope in his duffel bag and he couldn't ignore the twinge of pride he felt when Rory had told him she'd purchased a photo-box for his. Currently, however, his pride was feeling like it had taken a sucker punch to the stomach. 

Jess looked down and read over the lines. He had kept this secret from her for so long he found it was the most difficult confession he had made yet. Would she think he was a coward? That he was lying? 

Logan was out of New York and Rory hadn't received anymore flowers or unwelcomed visits since his unsuccessful stake-out. She had written to Jess that she knew she typically was known as being overly-nice and it didn't always work in favor, but with dealing with Logan she was very impressed with how little opportunity she gave him to try and win her over again. Because of this strength she asked the answer to a long outstanding question and with his eyes closed Jess penned the answer.

* * *

"I spent the night crying with my grandmother calling you a hoodlum because of a swan?" Rory said through restrained laughter on the phone.

"Hey I gave you the answer can we just let it go?" Jess groaned. 

"Not a chance. Where were you that you got "beaked" by a swan?"

"Larson's dock. Hey I can write a list of topics on the back of this layout for us to discuss that is way more interesting then this dialogue we're sharing." Jess grunted with a slight smile as he balanced his phone carefully between his shoulder and his ear. He stacked the piles of essays he might run and the ones he'd never consider reading again and placed them on the floor beside the bed. His eyes moved to the gold clock on the hotel room wall and he blinked in surprise. They had already been on the phone for an hour yet it felt like five minutes and he wasn't looking forward to when either of them had to say goodnight. 

"Jess does it bother you that I ask about the past a lot?" Rory asked quietly. She picked at a loose thread on the quilt she had draped over herself. 

"You have a right to." He said simply. "Besides I think we're a bold example of how you can't run from your past."

"We did do quite a bit of running." Rory laughed but soon after felt the slightest ache in her chest. She snuggled into the couch and let her head rest on the throw pillow behind her. She missed him and the spare moments she wasn't wearing down her heels at the Times her thoughts drifted back to him.

"So how's the shower planning going?" he asked.  
"Pretty good it's at Miss Patties and Sookie is going to do the food and I have the cupcake tower ordered from Weston's. I called Luke this morning and asked him to make baby-sized hamburgers and a gigantic order of fries on Sunday and pretend he's taking me and mom shopping."

"Sounds like quite the bash. Is it weird though, planning it for your mom?" Jess got up and opened one of the bags of Doritos he got from the vending machine outside and went to the chair he moved to the window. The skyline was cast in the pink haze of the sky and from between the two tall office buildings he could see the ocean.

"Not really, it's different but I'm so happy for her. It broke my heart to see her when she was with my dad because deep down I always though she wanted Luke. It's really important for me to do this for her."

She was visiting Stars Hollow tomorrow for a much needed visit but she still had a feeling that the next few weeks would creep by. 

"Rory?" Jess said, breaking into her thoughts. "I miss you." 

"So I'm not alone in that boat."

"Get me a red sweater and call me Gilligan." 

"Aye aye."

* * *

"Taylor if you don't get out of my face I swear I'm going to stick _your_ face in the waffle maker!" 

"Honestly Luke this isn't a difficult request. All I'm asking is for a coat of paint, maybe some nice paintings like Renoir prints on the walls in lovely gold frames. It'd make the flow between my shop and your diner on the other side of the window much smoother." 

Rory and Lorelai grinned from the table beside the door over large mugs of coffee while watching the show at the counter. 

"How do you live without this in New York honey?" Lorelai asked. 

Rory took a big swallow of her coffee and shuffled her chair closer to her pancakes. "Well Moe at the bakery sometimes sings show tunes really loudly when I go to get cannoli." 

"Must be a food industry thing. I mean look at Paula Dean she's kind of out there." 

"I think it's all the butter."

"Does that mean cows are crazy? Or is it the fermenting process?" 

"Cows aren't crazy!" Both girls jumped to see Kirk eavesdropping intently on their conversation. Upon being discovered he quickly grabbed his coat and walked out the door. 

Luke looked up and back at the table and strode to the door and shouted after Kirk for not paying and gestured impatiently for Taylor to make use of the already open door. 

"Your man's feisty." Rory smiled as she dug into her pancakes. Luke's pancakes would forever be her comfort food but watching her mother actually enjoying an extra portion of berries on top of her pancakes had a slightly unnerving affect. "Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" 

"Hey I did the same thing with you so this one's probably going to go to Yale too because of all the strawberries I'm eating." 

"Well good because I want to have started a legacy. So what's our plan today?" Rory asked. Lorelai straightened and clasped her hands together. 

"Number one is kitten choosing with Babette. Number two is going to Andrews to buy the dumbest baby name books we can find and number three is Friday Night Dinner. But tomorrow will be even better we have a big brunch with Luke at Sookie and Jacksons, a town meeting and you're going to explain to me the point of _Atonement_." 

"Keira Knightley got the chance to kiss Mr. Tumnus I don't really see a downside." 

"Hey that was for tomorrow!"

"How about tomorrow then we measure your stomach and put it in that weird baby book Grandma got you?" she watched her mother cringe and take a deep breath.

"Deal. Oh best part… Sunday Luke is taking us shopping." Lorelai said looking at her husband setting down plates at another table. 

"Really? What are we shopping for?"

" Baby stuff he wants to pick out a crib that looks like the one his dad had." 

"Aw cute." Rory cast a sneaky glance and Luke and felt an appreciation for his ability to trick her mother, which she had thought completely impossible.

* * *

Rory and Richard sat across from each other in the living room with the coffee table separating them. Rory had her head in her hand and was looking at her grandfather who seemed just as tired as she was. On top of all the kitten cuddling and book store perusing she had also had to send her mother to Luke's to get burgers so she could run to Lane and confirm the RSVPs. Glancing at the clock she calculated they had sat down for drinks a half hour ago and for twenty minutes now her mother and grandmother had been arguing. 

"Mom it's pretty sure but it's kind of extravagant and if the kid tries to lift it they're going to get a black eye." 

"It's not extravagant it was barely three hundred dollars! And it's not for playing with its decorative." Emily hissed from the hallway as she stormed around adjusting flowers. Lorelai followed her in a flowing navy blue sundress and heels in frustration.

"Barely? So what it was two-hundred and eighty dollars? A sterling silver Tiffany's rattle that will just sit there and gather dust? Why not buy the kid one of those cool battery powered cars that are mini-people sized? Now there's an investment." 

"Fine Lorelai I'll take the rattle back to Tiffany's. I can just see it now "I'm sorry but my daughter is tasteless and would rather we purchase our unborn grandchild a miniature car to slam into mailboxes and trees and give itself a concussion." Is that what'd you like?" 

Richard leaned over and raised an eyebrow at Rory. "Rory I have recently smuggled into the house a box of chocolates from Switzerland and have it hidden in my study. How about we go look at a riveting memoir I'm reading and conveniently stumble upon the box?"

Rory couldn't help but smile and said loudly, "A memoir? By William Alexander Percy? I'd love to see it Grandpa." Then she followed him swiftly into his study. As soon as the door was closed Rory was engulfed in the warm, dim lights and the scent of scotch and cigars. It was comforting and the books around her only intensified the feeling of content and drowsiness. Her grandfather went over to his desk and pulled a pretty brown box out of the drawer and settled in his armchair. Rory sat down across from him and picked out a shining chocolate shaped like a rose. 

"Well now that's better than listening to those two until dinner." He chuckled. Rory nodded as the silky chocolate melted on her tongue. 

"I definitely agree. So Grandpa how's business?" she asked taking off her heels and tucking her legs under her. 

"Same as usual; people damage their property or themselves and we pay them for it. It's a brilliant concept." When Rory pulled her hair off her shoulders her grandfather leaned over slightly in his chair eying the strand of modest pearls around her neck. 

"Why now those are lovely. Did you grandmother get those for you and failed to get me to sign the card? You'd think she'd at least give me a sliver of credit." 

Rory smiled and touched the pearls. She only wore them when she was dressed up but she was very proud of them. Her mom had said the necklace suited her and Rory had to agree, they were modest but real with an opaque sheen that showed many years of care. 

"No actually Luke gave them to me for my twenty-first birthday. They were his mothers and he wanted me to have them." She smiled. Richard gave a nod of approval as he popped another chocolate into his mouth and leaned back into his chair. 

"I still think he should franchise; but he so far I have the impression he knows how to be a father." 

"Believe me Grandpa, he does."

* * *

"Do you think you'd be where you are now if you had married him?" Jess asked as he walked along the pier. It was early in the afternoon and the heat was bearably thanks to its duet with the soft breeze drifting off the water. Children with Lacoste polo's and small sundresses ran to stand on the wooden barrier with ice creams to look for dolphins and fish from above while women in expensive shades talked to friends with purses that could pay for Jess's ticket home. 

He felt extremely awkward wearing sunglasses, sort of like he expected to be punched in the face by himself if he saw himself in the mirror but the sun was blinding without them. He had a book reading this evening and then a train ride to Santa Barbara. 

California was always felt so foreign to him and he wondered how the few people he could see that stuck out as much as he did survived. Did the bushy-haired guy reading a comic go tanning? Did the blonde in the Berkley sweater, being photographed by his girlfriend with her camera-phone, do Pilates? Jess was more comfortable in cities that were busy or towns that were insane. 

"Definitely not. I'd probably be in San Francisco making Guacamole all day and writing for Woman's Wear Daily. I know I could probably have worked for the Chronicle but it wasn't what I worked so hard towards." 

"Plus then your grandmother would be on you." Jess added.  
Rory was tying up party favours with curling ribbon at Miss Pattie's and managed to make a curl that resembled a sad piece of limp spaghetti. 

"What do you mean?"  
"Well your grandmother seems like quite the traditionalist, don't you think she'd be pressing for you to have kids?" he explained while carefully dodging an elderly man with a fishing pole headed to the water. 

"I thought about that too. The term marriage has numerous implications that go with it and I'm want to tackle other things before I even think about mortgages, children and a wedding. I never really understood why Logan thought it'd be so terrible for me to be his girlfriend while he was in San Francisco but I guess that played a big part in me saying no." 

"You can be in love and in a stable relationship without being married—not that'd I know." 

"Maybe you will." Rory said quietly. 

"Maybe."

* * *

Luke pulled his green truck slowly up to Miss Patties and shut of the engine. Lorelai narrowed her eyes and looked around in confusion then turned to Rory who was uncomfortably pressed against the window beside her. 

"I think Luke forgot where the mall in Hartford is." She said. Rory and Luke looked at each other with smiles and got out of the car; Luke helping Lorelai pull herself out of the centre seat and around the stick shift 

"Do I hear the Bangles?" Lorelai began to smile excitedly as Rory threw open the door to reveal the town cheering and blowing obnoxious noisemakers. The inside of Miss Pattie's was decorated with pale orange and yellow streamers and balloons with a wall covered in baby-photos of Lane, Kwan, Steve, Luke, Rory, Kirk, Gypsy, Liz, Sookie, Michel, Jackson and Gigi. There was two enormous tables of food with a beautiful fruit centrepiece by Sookie that looked like a tropical flower arrangement complete with a few gummy candies here and there.  
Lane was sitting at her drums with Gil, Brian and Zach playing some of Lorelai's favourites. Kirk was manning the "Baby-Name Station" where Rory had purchased a guest book to fill with as many names as guests could think of her mom and Luke to read over. She had also revived the onesie painting table and had managed with great effort to convince Taylor to agree to be the target for a pie-in the face contest (free throws for Lorelai, a dollar for everyone else with all proceeds going to the town). 

"Rory..." Lorelai sighed as she hugged her daughter. "You kid are the sneakiest but most thoughtful daughter ever. This is fantastic, especially since I get to hit Taylor in the face with a pie." She let Rory go as Luke put her arms around his wife and the entire family was engulfed by the town. 

"Well we all know you're going to be a fantastic mom...look at Rory." Liz smiled as she hung up her onesie. Several people had gathered around the station while eating coffee cake while others were throwing pie at Taylor who was yelling about misuse of maraschino cherries. 

"If there's one lady who knows what not to do with children it's be this dame, no question." Babette agreed while painting on the whiskers to the cheery orange cat. 

"Aw thanks but Rory pretty much came out perfect. I'm sure she could have recited everything that was wrong with the Declaration of Independent in the womb." 

Rory smiled and shrugged. "Well you would have been taking history while I was in there at one point so I absorbed it through your own intellect." She followed her moms lead who went to sit on one of the couches. 

Lorelai was just beginning to show with the slightest swelling in her stomach that could still be hidden under her looser tops but Rory had to admit she had never seen her smile so much. She had experienced Sookie, Lane and even Sherry's pregnancies up close but it was completely different with her own mother.  
"I have to talk to you about something that's been freaking me out lately." Lorelai sighed. 

"What is it?"

"Well I know it's still ages away but believe me the whole nine month thing sneaks up on you like Michael Moore—you think you have time to process until the next movie comes out and then bang he makes another one that has you doubting whether or not freedom of the press really exists—anyways when this unnamed comes out we'll be keeping it obviously in our room for a while so Luke and I can be close and hear if it's trying to eat it's blanket or learning to moonwalk. After that though it's going to need its own room and I hate the idea of you not having your room and if you say no Luke and I have talked about getting another add-on." 

"Don't be silly! I said Gigi could have it before so of course I want you to use it. The house is the perfect size and it's going to look like the arrogant house on the block if you just keep adding to it. All the other houses will gossip about it and secretly try to bring it down." 

"Poor House."

"Besides I know I'm always welcome at home, just remember to keep my Yale paraphernalia on the wall so it knows what's good for it." 

"Deal. Is it insulting to call my unborn child an it? That sounds so Stephen King." 

"We could give it a unisex name until it's born?" Rory suggested. 

"Oh okay! What about Yogurt?" 

"That's not even a name!"

"Is so! Foods are names now, ask Gwyneth and she'll tell you sister." 

"Hey we are not naming our kid after any kind of food!" Luke yelled from his spot at the portable grill where he was flipping burgers. 

"What about Oatmeal? I still have a few of my quirky "Babette Ate Oatmeal" shirts..though that would imply cannibalism and that's frowned upon no matter what the health benefits." 

"Kirk stop talking about cannibalism!" 

"Can someone get this darn whipped cream out of my eye it's beginning to burn my retinas." 

"That'd make a good song.."  
Rory smiled as she Lane walked over and sat beside her, there was certainly not a chance of her feeling lonely in Stars Hollow.

* * *

Jess paced around his hotel room with the phone pressed to his ear. 

"We're going to have to cut the last few dates Jess the meetings the week before you're scheduled to come back." 

"But Random House? We haven't even made a decision whether or not we're going to let them buy us out how can we have a meeting?" 

"Because it's Random House and they say so. One way or another they want us to be there to hear them out." 

"Fine but don't make a decision without me okay? I have to go I have a phone call to make." Jess hung up the phone and pressed his speed-dial number two. Though the person he was calling wasn't typically the talk on the phone and chat type Jess figured now qualified as a good time to try. 

"Yeah." A gruff voice answered. 

"Hey Luke, you busy?" Jess asked. 

"Jess? No I can take a few minutes give me a second and I'll go into the storage room." There was a minute pause and the sound of tin cans being shoved aside before he talked again. "It's been what? Two weeks since I've heard from you, how's California?" 

"Sunny, perky it's kind of creepy but the people who show up to my readings are pretty decent samples. I don't think they've drank as many mochachino's as everyone else." 

"Girly coffee freaks me out a bit." Luke shuddered. "Diner's pretty busy today but everyone seems to want Lorelai's new special." 

"Lorelai made a special?" 

"She calls Fluffy Fingers. It's breakfast sausages cooked inside pancakes it looks like disgusting but Kirks ordered six." 

"Well it is Kirk." Jess paused. "Hey Luke I'm kind of facing something, nothing tragic or anything but I don't know where I stand on it... well I do but I'm not sure if I'm just trying to be the cool rebellious punk or if it's actually a good decision. Can I run something by you?" 

"Of course Jess, I mean I'm no Dr Phil or anything but if I'm always here for you." 

"I know. You know Random House the publishing company?" Jess explained the entire situation about Truncheon expanding and gaining the interest of being bought out by the large company. He told Luke how they'd receive huge payments from the deal but that he didn't feel right about it but he wasn't sure if that was being stubborn or smart. 

"Did I ever tell you Richard Gilmore wanted me to franchise my diner?" 

"No, wow that'd be creepy...no offense." Jess said as he pictured backwards baseball caps and flannel on scrawny kids working behind counters across America. Luke laughed. 

"None taken, believe me. I can't seem to get through to him though that it wouldn't be the same if I handed it over to a bunch of jerks in suits with briefcases who managed everything, even if my face was plastered on buildings all over the place. Bigger companies make it so what yours isn't yours anymore. Do you want that to happen to Truncheon?" 

"Definitely not. We work really hard to publish only what we see that has some real blood and grunt work put into it." 

"Do you think Random House would keep that?" 

"They'd probably put a book about a struggling coke addict beside Danielle Steel." 

"Then I think you have your stance." 

"Dr Phil has a really stupid looking moustache."

"I could grow one."  


"Oh come on now you're just trying to conform."

"We can't all be rebellious punks who work at Wal-mart." Luke said as Jess sighed, he was never going to live that blue vest down.


	6. Chapter 6

..:AN: Updateeee. Hopes you like it! I love this chapter I'm not even gonna lie. Comment your butts off so I know what you think.:..

* * *

Rory walked out of Phillip Taubman's office and nearly ran smack into the breakfast cart. With her jaw dropped some floors below her she propelled herself towards the nearest lunch room and collapsed in a chair with wide eyes. She quickly picked up her phone and called her mom.

"Well what'd he say?" Lorelai said before the phone had rung twice. She heard Luke pick

up the other phone and could tell he was listening intently.  
"I'm going to be a member of his team in Italy this summer. I get to spend three weeks of my summer following Phillip Taubman around Europe. He says I still have some things to learn but it's the best work he's seen to date from an intern. Can you believe it? I'll be able to talk to him and hear everything about working at the New York Times, and I'm getting paid for it. I'm getting paid the same wage as someone who works at MacDonald's but I get to go to Europe for it!" With each word Rory spoke her tone travelled from stunned to excitement as realization splashed upon her.

"Oh my god, Rory!"

"Wow Rory that's amazing! Congratulations!" Luke chimed in.  
As Rory explained all the details like the small number of people she'll be travelling with, the stories they'll be covering and the low-budget hotels the group would stay in she had the strangest feeling of excitement and relief at the same time. When she hung up the phone ten minutes later she smiled and thought "_I can't believe I finally did it."_

* * *

That night Rory arrived at Lucy and Olivia's apartment, Glenda, with a bottle of champagne and three glasses. She had spent her time at home calling her dad and filling him in on the good news. He had cheered excessively loud and was coming the next evening for a celebratory dinner at her apartment where he would cook them both a dish he learned from the Food Network.

She buzzed their apartment number three times and was still standing out in the cold. Frowning and shivering, she took her phone out of her purse with difficulty and called Olivia's cell.

"Hey Rory!" Olivia yelled, there was a large amount of background noise where she was that including chinking glasses, laughter and slightly obnoxious jazz music. Rory was vaguely reminded by the chaos of an episode of _Girl's Next Door_ she had watched with Lane while Steve and Kwan napped.

"Where are you? I'm at your place."

"Oh no, really? I'm so sorry Rory the gallery was showing the work of this new artist whose very Georgia O'Keefe meets Klee and then all of a sudden the artist shows up in the flesh! Then someone mentioned it to someone else, and then all this cheese showed up and now it's like a big party."

"Sounds like it! Don't be sorry though I should have called first."

"Hey Lucy's coming over after rehearsal you should swing by too."

Rory though about it but began to feel a slight ache in her legs and shoulders and started to walk down the front steps of the complex. "No thanks I think I'll just veg out at home. Have fun though! I'll see you soon!"

"Bye Rory."

* * *

As the pearly pink toenails peaked out from the blanket of bubbles Rory sighed and sunk deeper into the bath. The last time she had a bubble bath Rory was six, she had watched a documentary on the Titanic and wanted to test how quickly things would sink in the bathtub. Lorelai never kept her jewelry in the bathroom after that day.

On the way home from the artsy district Rory had walked past a 24-hour pharmacy that had a strangely inviting advertisement of a blonde lady sitting in a claw foot tub with bubbles spilling everywhere. Rory had then walked about the shelves and sniffed several bottles of bubble-bath, finally deciding on cinnamon-espresso for six ninety-nine.

Though the scenario was reminiscent of _Desperate Housewives_; sitting in a whirlpool tub with bubbles, champagne and an Aero bar Rory felt much more Disney than primetime. Indulging in something other than a fifteen minute shower wasn't in her list of common hobbies and after getting settled she had amused herself by gathering a handful of bubbles and blowing them at the wall.

Her tranquility, however, was momentarily interrupted when her side-kick began to ring shrilly and she knocked her head against the tile wall in surprise. Rory jumped up swearing and holding her head as she reached out of the tub for her pile of clothes and rummaged through them for her phone. She quickly dried her hands and answered, holding the phone as far from her damp face and hair as possible.

"Hello?"

"Rory? Are you okay?" Jess yelled into the receiver, she sounded as if they were on speakerphone and very disoriented.

"Oh hi Jess. I'm fine I'm just..well I'm kind of soaked and the current likeliness of electrocution is much too high for my personal liking. Can you hold on a second?"

"Yeah sure," he said. Rory put down the phone on her sweater and hauled herself carefully out of the tub, her feet making rubbery squeaking sounds on the floor as she put weight on them. She quickly dried herself off and hopped into her robe before picking up the phone.

"How's your tan coming? Do you look like Swayze in _Havana Nights_ yet?" Rory asked as she sat down on the edge of bath. She carefully pulled out the plug and pushed open the curtains before taking a sip of her champagne.

"I'm avoiding direct sunlight as much as possible; it can give you cancer you know. But I bet you do know since you work at the New York Times, they must be all over headlines like that." Jess paused as he listened to the sound of gurgling water. "Are you in the sewers or something? Pulling a ninja turtles are we?"

"No I just got out of the bath."

"How _Pretty Woman_ of you."

"Hey I smell like a cinnamon bun and an espresso right now so I wouldn't insult me since I know you're pretty fond of both of those things."

"I'm pretty fond of you too but I don't bathe in your sweat," he cleared his throat quickly. "That came out a lot more stalker and less romantic than I wanted it to."

Rory blushed slightly and smiled. "You were trying to be romantic?"

"You told me not to insult you, figured it was a better alternative."

"You thought right. So did you make a decision about Random House?" she asked.

Jess sat down at the couch near the window, out of all his hotels so far this one was making sleeping on the beach look much more inviting. However he was getting an idea for a scene for a novel running through his head. "We've all agreed it isn't the right thing for us. We'll lose all control of what gets published under our name or not, it's not the time to sell out yet."

Rory felt immensely proud of Jess and his coworkers for keeping their integrity, she had a feeling that if they caved it would be regretted by Truncheon a few months later when they saw what was being published by their company.

They spent an hour on the phone together during which Rory let Jess in on her good news and he radiated with pride. They talked about Rory escaping to Stars Hollow in two weeks and Jess meeting a girl who looked exactly like Paris if she was a Goth, followed by Rory cursing him for not taking a picture.

When Jess hung up the phone and sat on his bed he couldn't help but smirk.  
"_I knew she'd do it."_

* * *

Luke and Rory were dressed in old-clothes as they rolled a pale green paint on Rory's room walls. Lorelai sat in the kitchen with Sookie surrounded by open windows and the back door to stay safe from the fumes.

"Are you sure green's the right colour for little David?" Lorelai asked as she flipped through her paint swatches. Luke had yelled in frustration as Kirk handed her a new enormous stack of the swiveling sticks of colour when they had visited the paint store.

"I love how close our names our, David and Davie, they have to be on the same basketball team! Imagine the jerseys!" Sookie clapped.

"David play basketball no way? David is going to be rock and roll and do movies where he rules over goblins just like his namesake. What about purple? It's more masculine for when he get's older? How do we know what boys like I've never had a boy what if he gets teased about his green room. What if they call him the Green Giant? What if he's short and they call him the Green Midgit."

"Kids are cruel." Sookie agreed.

"Take that thing away from her Sookie!" Luke barked as a splash of paint fell on his forehead. Rory laughed and wiped it off for him with a rag.

"Green is a awesome boy room colour mom, remember it'll look really good with all the Yale flags and banners too. Plus they could call him the Incredible Hulk and that's not a bad nickname in comparison to the Green Midgit is it?"

"That's true. Hey Rory I have to book a room for you at the Dragonfly when me and Sookie leave which one would make your girly heart all a flutter?"  
"How about the cabin? That's not booked is it?" Rory asked as she painted over the last speck of pink with a small smile.

"Nobody honeymoons this early in spring it's just been opened up. It is all yours."

"Woo hoo." Rory smiled. Luke put a hand on her shoulder as they looked around.

"It looks good, you have quite the painting skills Rory—I wouldn't have known."

"Well you build me that bookshelf and I'll paint any other room in the house." Rory smiled as she gave him a hug. There had been a lot of times when Rory had wanted to hug Luke before he was her step-dad and he had lost the awkwardness about it six hugs ago.

"It's already half-finished." He laughed. He went out of the room and kissed Lorelai before heading upstairs to shower.

Rory looked around the room with mixed feelings. Though she felt a little sad that it wasn't technically hers anymore she pictured books and music posters on the wall and a brother inside of it and felt the sadness replaced by excitement.

They had dinner at the grandparents that night and after Rory shared her news her grandmother was calling Miss Celeste to book an appointment with Rory, Lorelai and herself at Bloomingdales to pick out the best clothing. Richard was calling everyone to brag about his granddaughter when Lorelai cleared her throat. Luke shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat as he anticipated what she was about to announce.  
"I have news too. Over here, starting to look fat daughter would like some attention to."

"Honestly Lorelai, could you be anymore crude?"

"Do you want to know what's going on in my uterus mother? Because I'm sure that could.."

"Lorelai!" Emily scolded.

"Sorry." Lorelai snuck a small smirk at Rory who smiled back. Luke almost choked on his sip of scotch and turned a slight purple colour. "Well I got my test results back and the new Gilmore will be David Richard Gilmore-Danes."

"Oh that sounds lovely doesn't it Richard?" said Emily with a look on her face as though she had just heard Lorelai was joining the DAR. Rory felt a little choked too when she saw tears welling in her grandfathers eyes as he realized Lorelai was naming her son after him. Rory wasn't about to spoil the moment by mentioning who the first name was derived from.

"Yes, yes it does. Now if you'll excuse me I think I'll get a bottle of champagne for those of us who can enjoy it, and something for Lorelai."

Lorelai patted Luke's hand as she followed after her father to what Rory expected would lead to a Richard Gilmore bear hug. Though they were rare Rory had received several and there was nothing quite as comforting as them.

Emily slowly got out of her chair and gestured for Luke to stand up and they too took part in an awkward hug. Rory looked down at her plate of torte and tried not to laugh; they looked like two puzzle pieces trying to force themselves into the wrong places. She smiled as she ate the last bite of her desert, enjoying the strange but wonderful feeling of having a complete family.

* * *

"So the Dragonfly huh? All by your lonesome?" Jess asked. Rory smiled as she turned onto the country road that led up to the inn.

"No I'm going to throw a mad rave in my little cabin. Cletus and Desdemona will join me and we'll invite all the chipmunks and raccoons and dance to Gorgol Bordello."

"Cletus and Desdemona?" Jess asked. Rory pulled into the parking lot and met one of the night-staff with a golf cart ready to take her up to the main building. Rory smiled and sat behind him and the cart lurched up the hill.

"Their horses. So what're you up to you've been so secretive tonight."

"Hold on one second Rory someone's outside my door." Rory waited as the cart pulled up in front of the Dragonfly. The driver gave Rory a friendly wave as he head inside and Rory hopped out of the cart with her tote bag.

The stable door was open a few inches and there was warm light pouring out into the night. Rory sighed and headed towards it as she waited for Jess to pick up the phone again.

"Don't go into the stable." Jess said suddenly. Rory screamed as a hand shot out from between the doors and pulled her inside. Dropping her phone, Rory's face split into a brilliant smile as she jumped into Jess's arms.

"Oh my god! What're you doing here?"

"My last tour dates were cancelled so I could go to the meeting today with Random House. I booked a few nights here at the last minute so your mom wouldn't tell you and ruin the look on your face I'll have scarred into my head forever," he said with a grin. Rory looked him over and found he was a bit scruffier than when he left but it was almost like she hadn't remembered the specific details of his face.

"No blonde girlfriends or boyfriends to keep us apart?" Rory asked.

"Check. No failing grades that make me treat you horribly?" Jess asked.

"Check. No Luke or my mom to come up every ten minutes to check on us?"

"Check."

"About time." Rory smiled as he tightened his hold and kissed her.

* * *

Rory snuck back into the cabin dressed in Jess's Ramone's T-shirt and a pair of rainbow striped pajama shorts with a tray loaded with leftovers. Jess took it from her when she reached the bed and pulled her back to him.

"You took too long."

"I was ten minutes!" Rory laughed before kissing him again.

"We've been apart for over half a decade, when you put that into perspective we have a lot of time to catch up on." He insisted. Rory smiled and settled back into bed beside him against the propped up pillows and pulled the tray onto their laps. There was cold chicken, rolls, several large chunks of chocolate cake with raspberry and chocolate icing along with some ramekins of lasagna, chicken pot pie and a fancier macaroni and cheese than Rory was accustomed to. Jess had taken two bottles of soda out of the mini-fridge and offered an opened one to Rory.

"This is kind of scary." Rory admitted. She had imagined a thousand times what it would be like when Jess was finished his book tour but this made all the imaginary scenarios curl away in shame.

"I think Rob Zombie could probably add some undead things and make it into a horror film."

"Jess.."

"Look I know it's us and it's complicated but I've been waiting for this for so long. I know you haven't but this feels so right, it always has. I'm not going to run away from you if this is what you really want." He cupped her face in his hand and Rory felt hope explode throughout her head and trickle into every vein in her body.

"It is. But I'm going to Italy for half of the summer, it's not going to be easy Jess."

"Philly isn't that far from New York, if you want I can take my vacation for the half of the summer you're at your apartment. I can rent a sleazy apartment so I can stay in the city whenever I can and I'll get a ridiculous phone plan so you can keep me updated on how many political scandals you've uncovered in Italy. We just did time apart, I think we'll survive it again."

Rory's head was spinning. Jess was planning. He was thinking ahead and showing her he was going to be committed to giving a relationship another shot.

"You've had enough of sleazy apartments to last a lifetime, when you're in New York you can stay with me. One condition though."

"Name it."

"Don't break the glass swan figurine Mrs. Kim gave me in my bedroom." Rory laughed as she he tossed the tray onto the nightstand and grabbed her. "It's breakable and I don't think it would it leap off my desk and stab you in the eye."

Jess muffled her laughter by kissing her and making up for lost time.

* * *

**AN: Not the end! No worries! Chapters left to come**


End file.
